Yugure
by RagnellAlondite
Summary: Banished after bringing Sasuke back from the Valley of the End, Naruto will bring the shinobi world to it's knees with the group Yugure, seeking to bring world peace, no matter what the cost. Note: This is a harem story now.
1. Loyal Til the End

_AN* Welcome to my latest work, a challenge issued by ultimate emperor. As I always say leave a review at the end of this, and who knows, maybe if I get enough of them I will answer you here in the next chapter. So please enjoy._

_Loyal Til the End_

Naruto trudged along the path back to Konaha, dragging a wounded and unconscious Sasuke behind him.

"You are one major pain in the ass." the blonde muttered to himself, looking back at his traitorous comrade "You just had to try and leave, you just had to try and go to Orochimaru to get power to kill your brother. You just had to ram a Chidori through my chest." Naruto continued to complain as he walked back to his home. After the long and tiring walk he arrived to see that Kakashi was about to leave to come after him, and that Sakura was still at the gates waiting.

"NARUTO!" Kakashi shouted as he ran over to him, supporting him as Sakura ran over to Sasuke, starting to cry.

"WHAT DID YOU DO NARUTO?" she cried.

"I... I brought him back." Naruto said slowly.

"I wanted him home, not half dead!" she screeched as she glared at the barely conscious blonde.

"Sakura..." Naruto trailed off as Kakashi shook his head and carried Naruto and Sasuke to the hospital where they could be treated. Upon their arrival Tsunade, who had just finished treating Choji, was checking on Naruto, going over his injuries after he had finally passed out from exhaustion.

"Multiple lacerations and burns. A large round hole, likely caused by a Chidori. Chakra burns along his entire body. Severe chakra exhaustion..." Tsunade listed as she stopped "I'll say that he is lucky to be alive."

"No kidding." Jiraya said from his seat on the window ledge "I already checked on the Uchiha. His wounds aren't too severe though he did take a beating from Naruto."

"I see..." Tsunade sighed.

"Hokage-sama." an ANBU agent said as they appeared in the room.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You have been summoned to a council meeting." the nin reported.

"Who else is present?"

"The elders and the civilian councils are already there. And at the moment only Hiashi Hyuga of the Shinobi council." the man nodded.

"Go get Shikaku Nara, and any other members of the shinobi council that you can." she ordered as she started leaving "Jiraya, stay with Naruto."

"Got it Hime." the old sage nodded as he kept a close eye on his godson. Tsunade walked into the council chambers to see that just as the ANBU agent had reported, only Hiashi was there from the shinobi council.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tsunade growled as she walked over to her seat.

"It concerns the Sasuke retrieval mission." Danzo said smoothly "While the mission was a success, the methods that were used are to be considered questionable."

"Questionable? Since when was it the councils job to cross examine every single mission that Konaha shinobi take?" Tsunade asked.

"When it concerns those last remaining members of clans." Danzo retorted "Due to his injuries, that we know of from a nurse at the hospital, along with the testimony of one Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha will be unable to be an active shinobi in our forces, and will likely be kept in the hospital for several months."

"As will Naruto, who suffered far worse damage at the hands of Sasuke. HE HAD A CHIDORI RAMMED THROUGH HIS CHEST!" Tsunade roared as she smashed her fist into the table, earning a jump from several of the council members.

"That is not the point. There were most likely better means from which Naruto Uzumaki could have handled the rescue. I therefore call for a vote, to execute Naruto Uzumaki for his viscous attack on Sasuke Uchiha, and for failing to complete such a mission to satisfactory requirements." Danzo smiled "All in favor?" he paused long enough to see all of the elders and civilians raise their hands, and Hiashi, raising his slowly.

"All against?" Danzo asked as Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Chozua Akimichi walked in, each raising their hands against, as did Tsunade.

"And by the Hokage's authority I am allowed to speak for the majority of the populace. Therefore Naruto shall not be executed." Tsunade replied, hoping to see the grin fall form Danzo's face, but it remained where it was.

"Very well. However due to the charges against him, he cannot be allowed to remain here. I thereby banish Naruto Uzumaki from Konahagakure." Danzo grinned.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" Tsunade shouted.

"I do however. The law states that when the Hokage has a close attachment to the person in question, said person can be banished if the elders and one half of the council agree, which the elders and all of the civilian council do. Therefore I will have him banished instead where he may meet his end as he sees fit." Danzo replied as the councilors grinned at each other, with the exception of Hiashi, who looked ashamed that he was involved in this matter. Once all of the civilians and elders had left Tsunade confronted Hiashi.

"HIASHI! What was the meaning of that?" she shouted.

"I did what was best for Hinata and my clan. Naruto is a force of chaos, just as his father was. I cannot allow him to be near Hinata. He will lead her down a path that will only make her miserable."

"Are you mad? Hinata is in love with that boy!"

"I know. That is why I agreed to this. I have nothing against him personally, but for the good of my family I will have him banished." Hiashi replied "Now if you will excuse me, I will be on my way." With not so much as a backward glance Hiashi left the council chambers, leaving Tsunade standing there in a rage. Walking back to her office she quickly removed the painting of Minato Namikaze, the Yodaime Hokage painted perfectly with his smiling care free face, revealing the safe behind it. Opening it Tsunade removed the documents within, along with all of the scrolls.

"I may not have been able to stop them, but I will do everything that I can to help you Naruto." Tsunade promised as she headed back for the hospital. Once in Naruto's room she saw that the blonde was awake, staring at the wall, his face grim.

"They banished me didn't they." he remarked, and it wasn't a question.

"I'm sorry Naruto, they did." Tsunade sighed.

"Pervy Sage said that it was likely to happen. I don't get why though." Naruto remarked "I did the mission, I brought him back..."

"Naruto. There isn't anything I can do more then this." Tsunade said as she set down the items from the safe in front of him "This is your inheritance. Your father, the Yodaime hokage left them in his safe, for you to have once you were sixteen. Since you won't be here before then I thought that now would be the best time to give them to you."

"Why wasn't I told?" Naruto asked.

"Because of your parents enemies. They would have killed you without a thought, just to get back at your parents. Your father was the one who decided to have it be withheld until you were sixteen. That way you would be strong enough to defend yourself against whoever they sent to kill you." Tsunade explained as she walked towards the door "Read their wills first, they are in the envelope, after that, go through them as you like. There isn't much rush, since you have until sunset tomorrow to be out of the village." Naruto waited a few moments before he opened up the envelope. Inside were two sheets of paper, both addressed to him. Grabbing the top one Naruto began reading.

"_Dear Naruto,  
I know that you will be reading this after I am gone, but I want you to know that I am sorry for not being there for you. Your mother and I always planned on raising you, on having a family, and watching you grow up to be the amazing young man that I know that you will be. Unfortunately we will not have that chance. It is the reason that your mother and I are leaving these wills to you, for you to read on your sixteenth birthday. So I guess the first thing should be wishing you happy birthday. I am sure that you are just like me, beating the women off with a stick. Trust me though, one day you will find a woman that will capture your heart and you will do anything for her. Who knows, maybe __you already have and if not, look at the shy ones, for they have the purest hearts of all, it's how your mother was around me. Anyway I am leaving you two scrolls. The first contains all of my jutsu, and all of my techniques that I have developed including the Hiraishin, which I know that you will use well. The next one contains all of the bank numbers to the Namikaze and the Uzumaki accounts, which at the time I am writing this contain over 3.2 billion Ryo combined, though with interest there is most likely much more. This should be more then enough for you to live on, and buy yourself a nice home. I hope that you are well and that you are not too angry that I sealed the Kyubi inside of you. I believe that you are the best suited for the job of keeping the beast away from mortal kind and pray that you are able to do this job to the best of your abilities. Remember that I will always love you._

_Your father,_

_Minato Namikaze"_

Naruto blinked back tears, knowing that his father had cared for him, and had truly done the best that he could for his son. Smiling Naruto set the sheet down gently and picked the other one.

"_My darling Naruto,_

_I hope that you are happy and well when you finally read this, and that you have found yourself a wonderful woman to share your life with. I know that you are probably upset that we could never be together as a family, but know that we truly do love you. I won't waste time thinking on all of the maybes that could have been, since it would be a waste of time to wish things were different. I am leaving you two scrolls as well. The first contains the Uzumaki clan techniques, brought with me after I left Uzu no Kuni. The contain many powerful techniques and lost secrets that only our clan knew about before we were scattered to the wind. The other scroll will have my sword inside of it. It is called Geiru(Gale) and it will serve you as well as it did me. You will have to learn how to use it on your own, however I have faith that you will be able to do wonders with it, and hopefully someone has been training you in kenjutsu. Anyways, before I start rambling know that your father and I love you and that we will always be watching you from the afterlife, proud of you._

_Your Mother,_

_Kushina Uzumaki"_

Naruto was now wiping tears from his eyes and was only making sure that there were in fact four scrolls left for him. Nodding he opened each one quickly, noting that they were all had blood seals on the inside, probably to make sure that no one could copy the information before Naruto got them. Getting up slowly Naruto put on the ruined clothes that he had left, leaving the coat since it was beyond repair. Walking out of the room he saw Tsunade and Jiraya waiting for him.

"You knew about these?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. Sarutobi-sensei left me a note about them for you." Tsunade nodded.

"And I was the one to get your mothers sword." Jiraya sighed "I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier, but we swore to your parents that we wouldn't."

"It's ok." Naruto nodded as he turned to leave.

"Where are you going? You need to rest!" Tsunade shouted.

"I only have until tomorrow. I want to at least start saying my goodbyes, even if there are not a lot of them." Naruto replied as he walked. Inside the blondes mind he was in a cold rage. He should have been treated better by the adults if they had known about his parents, but they all treated him like dirt. He had been hated, abused and tormented for something that had been done to ensure their protection. He knew who was to blame at least and knew who at least deserved to have a chance to say goodbye to him. His first stop was the far end of the hospital where he stopped by to see Choji and Shikamaru.

"Hey guys..." Naruto said as he walked inside, surprising the pair.

"NARUTO!" they exclaimed as they grinned, Shikamaru stopping when he saw the blondes eyes.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." he grinned "I knew you would be alright Choji."

"Of course I would be." Choji laughed "Though I have a lot of weight to put back on."

"Well I agree there. A skinny Akimichi isn't normal." Naruto laughed.

"What's on your mind Naruto?" Shikamaru asked suddenly "This isn't a social visit."

"Smart as ever..." Naruto sighed "I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" they shouted.

"Yeah... Because I beat up Sasuke too much I have been banished by the 'great' council." Naruto sighed.

"Did our parents..." Choji asked.

"I don't think so. From what Pervy Sage told me Tsunade had them called to the meeting to defend me." Naruto sighed "Anyways I have to be out of the village by tomorrow night, otherwise I am going to be killed."

"That's just not right..." Shikamaru noted.

"It's my life. Don't worry about me you guys. I will be fine, but I wanted to say goodbye to all of my real friends." Naruto smiled as he got up "I do need to get going. If I get the chance I will see you all again."

"Yeah. I hope we do." Shikamaru nodded as Choji was holding back tears about this turn of events. Walking slowly Naruto exited the hospital, getting the usual glares from the populace as he made his way towards his favorite restaurant. The news being broke there was the worst for Naruto. Teuchi had nearly cried and Ayame refused to let him go as she cried, her tears hitting his head. After a half hour of this he was released and allowed to eat all that he wanted before he left. The gorging had gone on for several hours until he finally stopped, saying how he would miss them and write to them if he got the chance. It was dusk now and Naruto was sitting on top of the Hokage monument as he watched the village below him.

"Naruto..." Kakashi said as he sat next to him.

"Hey..."

"I heard about you being banished."

"Yeah. It really sucks. Shame we never got to talk about my dad though." Naruto said as Kakashi nearly jumped.

"You know?"

"Yep. Got to read my parents will. Let me guess, you swore not to say anything?"

"I did. I respected your parents a lot. But I always watched out for you. Do you remember the dog masked ANBU agent, well that was me."

"Really? Never knew that one." Naruto laughed "Well it was greatly appreciated what you did for me."

"I know. I'm sorry I wasn't a better sensei to you."

"It's ok. Pervy Sage would have taken that role from you eventually." Naruto replied "You did what you could, and that is all that I could ask."

"Thanks Naruto. You know things are going to be boring now that you are gone."

"True. But they will liven up once Konahamaru hears about this. He will prank the hell out of this place until everyone thinks that he has become me."

This earned a chuckle from the pair as they looked back at the night sky.

"Regardless. I will miss you."

"I know. I'm going to miss this place, but if they don't want me then why should I stay?" Naruto asked, a cold edge taking his voice. Dawn came slowly for the blonde who was now saying his farewells to Iruka who while sad, promised not to let anyone ever turn out like Sasuke had. The next on his list was Konahamaru, and his friends who were in tears by the time the news was told, each promising that they would prank all of Konaha for years in his memory. With them out of the way Naruto went to the one place he always sat to think, the swing. Taking a seat he stared into the distance, his eyes just unfocussed as he slowly swung. A few moments later he heard footsteps and turned to see Hinata peeking around a tree.

"Hi." Naruto said as he faced forward again. Hinata frowned at the greeting and walked up closer to him.

"A... Are you ok?" she asked.

"Ok... I guess that given the situation ok is about the best I can be..." Naruto replied as he stopped swinging.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, now very worried about Naruto.

"I was banished..." he said as Hinata gasped "I have until sunset before I have to leave." Hinata stared wide eyes in horror at what Naruto was telling her. She quickly started trying to dispel whatever genjutsu she thought that she was under and once realizing that it was reality she started to panic.

"What are you going to do?"

"No clue. I guess just wander." Naruto replied as he looked at her, taking in her face and for the first time noticing how beautiful she was.

"But... Surely there must be something..."

"Sorry Hinata. I have no choice but to leave." he sighed as he met her gaze. Hinata decided that if she was likely to never see him again she had to act so that he wouldn't forget her. Rushing forward she tackled him with a back breaking hug and knocked them both to the ground. Naruto was confused and worried about what was going on when Hinata suddenly kissed him, shocking him even further.

"I love you Naruto Uzumaki." she said when she finally stopped, leaving him stunned as he stared at the girl who was laying atop of him. For a few moments he just stared, his mouth slightly open as his brain tried to register what was going on.

"You love me..." he said, truly confused.

"Yes. I love you." she said again, stealing another kiss from the blonde. Naruto sat up now, bringing Hinata with him and looked at her.

"Hinata. I am really touched that you feel that way for me. And I really wish that I wasn't leaving so that I could get to know you. But since I am, I can only do the next best thing and send you letters as often as I can." Naruto smiled as he hugged her "I only wish I had more time."

"I know..." Hinata whispered as she returned the hug. Standing Naruto looked at her and with a small smile he headed for his apartment to gather his tools before he left the village. Once at the gates he looked back and his face turned into a scowl.

"I promise this. You shall regret what you have done to me. I will make sure that nothing is left of those that have betrayed me." Naruto vowed as he left the village, entering the forest and making his way towards the nearest town where he could rest for a few days. Sitting in his hotel room he was reading over his father's techniques, quickly realizing that his dad while being a genius had never really finished anything. His Hiraishin technique was supposed to actually be used with seals on the body and using your own thoughts to move to the target place, not a special kunai. As he continued to read there was knocking on his door and Naruto was instantly on high alert.

"Who's there?" he asked as he grabbed one of his dad's kunai. Suddenly the door was smashed off of it's hinges and on the other side stood Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.

"Found you." Kisame laughed as he prepared to charge at Naruto, Samehada at the ready.

"It is time that you surrendered. We know that you have been banished and that you are all alone. There is no hope of resisting." Itachi said coolly as he eyed the blonde. Naruto was trying to work on an escape plan. The window was behind him, easily a quick escape but something was telling Naruto not to use that as an exit. Which was smart on his part, as Itachi had a kage bushin waiting outside to trap him in a genjutsu should he make a run for the window. Staring straight ahead he was quickly making a way to escape, and with a nod he picked up his pack and his fathers scroll, making it seem that he would be coming with them. Once he had his possessions he struck, creating several kage bushin to distract them while he made the Rasengan. Once finished Naruto rammed the sphere into the ground, at an angle that would send debris flying at the two nuke nin, forcing them to block the barrage. Once it was done Kisame struck, swinging his massive sword at the blonde who rolled to the side and back, raising the kunai to see that Itachi was also moving in, his sharingan spinning. Grinning Naruto threw the kunai at the young man who simply leaned to the side to avoid the blade. However no sooner had the blade flew past his head did Naruto disappear in a flash of orange, shocking the two as they soon heard the footsteps running down the hall, but never the sound of a kunai hitting the wall.

"Did the gaki just use Hiraishin?" Kisame asked, clearly confused.

"I think he did." Itachi nodded as the pair chased after the blonde who had left the hotel and was hiding among the populace in the streets below. Jumping into the streets the two started walking through the crowd, searching for Naruto, who was already sneaking around the crowd and into the back alleys where he would be able to have the advantage. For over an hour the two Akatsuki members searched for him before they finally figured that he had left town while the had searched the populace. Naruto, sitting in an alley where he was catching his breath, was beginning to think that it was really safe to move again.

"Man those Akatsuki are relentless." he muttered as he realized something. The Akatsuki, while strong individually were a group, so that they could work together and therefore be nigh unstoppable. Grinning evilly Naruto began to have an idea as to what he needed to do, he needed allies, people who were willing to aid each other, to help them rise above what the world thought they were. Nodding he walked onto the busy streets again, his mind deciding that it was time to use his banishment to his advantage.


	2. Twilight Is Our Element

_AN* Alright, here is the second chapter. I must say I was surprised by the number of reviews that I recieved for a new story. So please keep them coming since this gives me the drive to continue writing. Next matter of business to answer some of the reviews that were left._

_notgonnasay09: The challenge wasn't that vague, it basically gives you your first chapter and from there you are on your own._

_JAIMOL: Well that is what you will find out in this chapter._

_adamski: Don't worry, there won't be hundreds of OC's running around. I will be adding a few in here or there, but they won't be taking up the entire fic._

_golfaholic: The answer is that I needed some way to keep showing what was going on in Konaha, otherwise I would forget about them for awhile._

_Now that the review answers are out of the way. Enjoy the chapter and please leave your reviews at the end._

_Twilight Is Our Element_

Five years have passed since the banishment of Naruto Uzumaki, and now the shinobi world was in chaos. Old alliances were gone and new ones were on the horizon. Suna and Konaha were now no longer allies, with the banishment of Naruto Suna was more then angry enough to declare war but wise words from Gaara fixed that problem. Ame was growing in power, having the group Akatsuki finish the take over and finishing off the former leaders forces. And a new group had appeared, a mercenary group that was becoming as well known as the Akatsuki and equal to if not stronger then the group. Wherever they went chaos would rise up and grip the area like a vice until they returned, taking over and establishing order. There were only two nations that were now safe from this and they were Haru no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni. The groups name was Yugure, and they were a terror across the elemental nations.

In one of the safe houses for Yugure a man sat on one of the armchairs, his eyes staring ahead as though he was trying to stare through the wall. He was the infamous leader of the group and he was the one who had gathered them all to his cause.

"Sir?" a woman asked as she approached.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I have the reports that you wanted." she said simply, setting a file on the small table next to the armchair.

"Thank you. I will look over them in a minute. I have something I need to take care of." he replied as he leaned forward, grabbing two blank pieces of paper and a pen.

"The usual?" she asked with a smirk.

"Of course. I have always kept my word, and I do not intend to stop now." he replied as he began writing two letters, sealing each into an envelope and handing them to her "You know what to do."

"Of course sir." she smiled as she turned on a heel, as sensual as the snakes that she loved and hunted after. Leaning forward the man began reading over the files as he prepared to make the plans.

"Let's see. Ame is maintaining it's borders, allowing nothing in or out. Kiri is amassing it's forces, probably to try and defend itself from either Akatsuki or us. Iwa is maintaining it's usual actions along with Oto, Kusa, and Taki. Suna is starting to take more missions and are expanding their influence. Lastly Konaha is losing influence and are actually trying to increase their shinobi forces. Seems like everything is going according to plan." he grinned as he stood up, checking the time "I should be on my way to meeting my other forces." With a flash of orange he left the base, arriving just outside of the Raikage's office in Kumogakure. Walking in he saw that the others were all present.

"Just in time boss." a man next to the Raikage laughed. Nodding the blonde took his seat among the members of Yugure and looked around to see if anyone was missing.

"So what do we have to report?" he asked as A, the Raikage stood up.

"At the moment all of Kumogakure is behind you. The rebellions have all stopped and all shinobi that have fled are returning." he nodded.

"Good. Make sure that there are no repercussions for them. I do not care why they left so long as they returned."

"Of course." A nodded.

"What of the jinchuruki?"

At this point the representative from Sunagakure rose, bearing the codename Tanuki.

"At the moment only a two of them are unaccounted for. The Yonbi and the Gobi are still missing. They are both from the same village so it is likely that they have already been captured by the Akatsuki."

"Until we have confirmation of this result I want the search for them to continue. The locations of the others?"

"The Ichibi is still with Suna of course. The Nibi and the Hachibi are already with you along with the Kyubi. The Sanbi is in hiding somewhere in Mizu no Kuni, we are not sure if it has a jinchuruki at the moment though, while the Rokubi is still wandering the elemental nations. We have had no word on him at all yet, but our informants are still looking for him. Lastly the Nanabi is in Takigakure, kept under heavy guard so she is not captured yet."

"I see. Which of the ones we do not have with us has the highest probability of getting attacked next?"

"It will either be the Nanabi, or the Ichibi. Since we have yet to find the exact location of the Sanbi it is very unlikely that the Akatsuki has either, and the Rokubi is a powerful shinobi, and wanders so much that he is near impossible to find." Tanuki replied.

"Very good. Make sure that we have operatives ready to move in case Akatsuki does. Which brings me to the next matter of business. It is time to start expanding our influence. We are no longer a small time group struggling to survive. I intend to let the entire world see our strength."

"Is this such a good idea?" A asked "The other shinobi nations might view this as an act of war."

"Let them. For a few nations it is such." the man grinned "I intend to keep all of the obligations that I have made, and I will see that all of my allies are given what they have earned through blood sweat and tears."

"Of course." A nodded "But wouldn't it be best to wait a bit longer, to make sure that we can make such moves."

"I know that we can."

"So what will the first move be?" a man asked.

"I intend to defend the jinchuruki that will be targeted by making sure that they are under watch until we have allied with there homes or conquered them. I will send emissaries to all of the nations that we have agreed upon. Once they have been sent then we will wait for the replies, hopefully they will be favorable. Once that is done I will be leading select parties to try and convince the nations that do not have shinobi forces to back us. I am hopeful that they will accept."

"And if they do not?" the man asked.

"I will simply lay siege to them as if they were any other enemy. There will be no third parties in this, only those with or against us."

"Of course sir." they all nodded.

"Now if there is no other business then you are all dismissed."

"Yes sir." they all nodded as they rose to leave the meeting room as the man went to the window and looked over the village below.

"Every thing alright?" A asked looking at him.

"I guess. I am worried that I am doing the wrong thing."

"Kid, you have done the best you can. Hell you've done more for this village then for any other person ever has." A grinned "Besides from what you told me you have already done all you can the old way."

"Too true. There are only a few places that we will without a doubt destroy."

"Save as many as are worth saving and let the rest burn. You are a true leader."

"I would hope so. I am the son of a great leader."

"Yeah. And have the support of another one."

"Really, who?" he laughed as A glared at him.

In Konaha things were different. The genin 11 as they were called at the time had each grown up into a force to be reckoned with. All of them were now jonin rank, and each of them were well known in and out of the village. Team Gai had each gone there separate ways, though they still saw each other as much as possible. Tenten had become an ANBU commander leading missions that dealt were usually too dangerous for other shinobi. Lee was also a jonin, despite his taijutsu being his only skill, and was often called the Konaha no Nidaime Kedakaki Aoi Mōjū(Konaha's Second Sublime Green Beast of Prey). Neji was a jonin as well, leading search and destroy missions more then anything else. Team 10 remained a solid team even now, often referred to as the Neo Ino-Shika-Cho, with them also well known separately, with Shikamaru as the genius, able to turn around any losing situation into a winning one, Ino as a masterful manipulator, and Choji as a strong fighter that was also jokingly called 'the gentle giant' due to his size. The remains of team 7 were well known but treated with scorn by the rest of the genin 11. Sakura had been trained as a medic nin, at the councils demand, forcing her to be taught by Tsunade who did so grudgingly and only enough so that the girl wouldn't kill herself or another. Sasuke had been spared any punishment, with the councilors saying that it had been the curse seal that had caused him to act the way he did. Thus was the seal permanently sealed away with the help of Jiraya. Sasuke was a strong nin and while he knew the others hated him, with the exception of Sakura, he didn't care so long as he got the chance to kill his brother like Danzo had promised him. Lastly team 8 had disbanded with Kiba and Shino still being main parts of tracking teams, though Kiba and Akamaru were often called for combat missions, while Hinata had gone in a completely different direction. She had gone to Tsunade for training and had been accepted with open arms, learning all of the Hokage's secrets and soon becoming a first class medic that rivaled Tsunade in ability. She had also disowned her clan after learning what her father had done and now lived on her own, and thanks to a technicality in the law she didn't have the cursed seal placed on her. She was now an ANBU agent as well, serving Tsunade directly and after leaving her clan she had started to learn any and all jutsu that she could, making herself an even greater threat to any opponent that she was pitted against. Currently she was sitting in the small bedroom of her apartment, planning on what to do with her day off. Normally she didn't take too many days off since they left her thinking about Naruto and worrying if he was ok. And while his letters did help ease her concern considerably she could always feel that there was something that he wasn't telling her. Sighing she stood up and started walking to the closet, going through her clothes and deciding on a pair of dark purple pants and a matching shirt. Hinata was a great beauty among the people of Konaha, with her turning down dates left and right, with the help of Kiba for those who were too dense or too determined to stop. She had let her hair grow out to her waist and the years had given her face a more womanly look to it instead of the adorable girl next door look. With a nod she walked out of her apartment just in time to see Anko walking up towards her.

"Hey." the jonin smiled as she approached.

"Anko-san." Hinata smiled as she looked at the snake user.

"I got mail for you." she grinned as she handed Hinata a sealed envelope.

"From him?" Hinata asked with a spark in her eye.

"Yep." she nodded "Now I'd love to stay and chat, but I promised Kurenai-chan that I'd meet her for lunch. Especially since she doesn't have to watch little Haru today." Over the four years Asuma and Kurenai had gotten married and now had a two year old child named Haru, who was the apple of their eye.

"Of course. Send my best to Kurenai-sensei." Hinata grinned as the jonin left in a shunsui. Looking at the writing on the front she knew that it was Naruto's handwriting immediately.

"_After all, no one can replicate that messy scrawl." _Hinata mentally giggled.

Opening the envelope she saw a single letter to her, though there wasn't much written there, which struck her as unusual.

"_To my dearest Hinata-chan,  
I know that this is probably my shortest letter to you and there is so much that I want to talk to you about. However since a letter can be reread I feel that this information is best given to you in person. If you would be able to meet me at the Valley of the End as soon as you can I will explain everything to you. I know that I have kept some secrets from you, but I am ready to at least tell you some of them. I look forward to seeing you again._

_Yours and yours alone,_

_Naruto"_

Hinata reread the letter a few times to make sure that she was indeed reading what she thought she had. Letting out a squeal she leapt up quickly onto the rooftops, heading for the Hokage Tower.

Tsunade was currently setting aside a massive stack of papers, all of them complete and looking at her somewhat empty desk. It was rare for there to be so little paperwork, but with a small break she leaned back and opened a new bottle of sake. Just after taking her first sip of the drink the door was burst open as Hinata came running in.

"I need to take some time off!" she shouted as Tsunade spat out the sake, trying to breath.

"What..." she asked.

"I need some time off! Starting today!"

"Why?" Tsunade asked confused. Normally the girl had to be forced to take a day off of work, but now she just came barging in demanding for days off.

"It's personal." she said with a blush coming to her face and Tsunade starting to grin.

"It's about Naruto isn't it?"

"Yes... It's a private matter though." Hinata nodded.

"Fine. Will a week be enough?"

"Plenty. Thank you Hokage-sama." Hinata bowed.

"It's nothing. Just make sure that you send the gaki my best wishes, along with the rest of those who miss him." Tsunade replied as Hinata nodded before running off. It took all of a few minutes to get packed and have the apartment locked up before she was out of the village before anyone could notice. Leaping through the trees she was ecstatic about seeing Naruto again after four years. His letters had said that he had been doing well and that he was still training to be a strong shinobi, even though it wouldn't be for Konaha. He even said that he found allies, though he refused to elaborate more then that when she asked about it. She in turn had told him all about what had been going on in Konaha, how Konahamaru and his friends had pranked Konaha for days straight and to this day they continued to do so on a regular basis, sparing only the Konaha 11, with the exception of Sasuke and Sakura, Tsunade, and the shinobi councilors that had supported Naruto and voted against his banishment or had protested it after they had learned what had occurred. After several hours Hinata stopped, looking at the valley where Naruto had battle Sasuke and not for the first time was awed by the damage done to the landscape. Sitting on the head of Hashirama Senju she looked down at the valley, visualizing the battle that had taken place here more then four years ago. Once weary of this Hinata set up her tent under some of trees in the forest and waited for Naruto to arrive. Late that night in a flash of orange Naruto appeared on the head of Madra Uchiha and looked down at the damage that he had caused all of those years ago.

"A scar of the battle between us." he muttered as he looked across the valley to see that Hinata was already there, in her tent just getting ready for bed "I shouldn't bother her just yet. She can see me tomorrow." With that he leapt across and landed with a small thud before he stood up. He had grown much taller in the passing years, easily as tall as Jiraya now his blonde hair was still standing in his usual spikes that he had when he was a kid, though now he kept a shoulder length ponytail. He wore black mostly, though his pants and shirt had orange trim to them. Over the shirt was a black coat with a golden sunburst on the back, the symbol for Yugure, the coat reached his ankles and had twin flaps so he could reach his mother's sword on his left side and the other sword that he had gotten in his travels, the sword was one of a set of five, with each one representing the five basic elements of the world. His sword was named Reijingu-fū(Raging Wind), and it was one of the most devastating weapons that he had in his possession. Smiling as he saw Hinata's fire go out and heard her crawling into her tent he sat on the ground, meditating on how much he could tell Hinata now, and how much apologizing he would have to do later once he began his plan or once it was completed.

Morning came to quickly for Hinata who once deciding that rolling over wouldn't make her go back to sleep rose, brushing her hair and trying to at least look presentable if Naruto was going to be arriving today. Exiting the tent she saw a figure sitting on the ground, facing the the valley. Grinning as she saw the blonde hair she moved as quietly as she could and once she was right behind him leapt at him to hug him, only for him to turn and stand up, catching her before she could ram into him.

"Good to see you too Hinata-chan." Naruto grinned as he kissed her, feeling her start to lean on him more as her legs tried to give out on her. Once the kiss was done did he sit her down with him and smiled.

"I am happy that you got my letter." Naruto said "I was worried that you wouldn't be here today, but that was put to rest last night."

"You were here?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. You were already going to bed by the time I arrived and I couldn't disturb such a beautiful angels sleep, so I just waited for you to wake up." he grinned as she stared at him, before smacking the back of his head "What was that for?"

"That was for not disturbing me! I don't care if you had walked in on me in the shower! I haven't seen you in years, I wanted to see you as soon as possible." she ranted as he blinked at her.

"In the shower... Are you trying to imply something my dear Hinata-chan?" he asked as she blushed a deep crimson color.

"No..." she said as she tried to keep whatever scrap of pride that she had left.

"Ok then... But I am remembering this for a later day." he laughed as she tried to glare at him, but the blush made it look adorable instead of menacing.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Hinata asked, hoping that it would change the topic.

"Straight to the point then." Naruto nodded "What do you know about a group called Yugure?"

"Nothing really. There are only rumors in Konaha, most shinobi think it's nothing more then that since they haven't set foot in Hi no Kuni yet."

"And what do you think?"

"I know that from Tsunade they have footholds in several different countries and are either based in Kaminari no Kuni or Haru no Kuni." Hinata replied.

"I see. Well then I do have some talking to do then." Naruto nodded "To begin, Yugure does exist, as a counter balance to Akatsuki I guess you could say. They seek the jinchuruki, those who carry the Biju in them, but not to kill them, but to protect them."

"They have approached you?" Hinata asked as Naruto gave her a look that said he wanted an explanation getting a blush of embarrassment from her before he got her mumbled reply "I... read your file... in the Hokage's office."

"I see. Then you know about the furry pain in the ass then." Naruto grinned "Anyways, they seek peace throughout the shinobi world by whatever means necessary and while there is a hierarchy they care about all of there members, making sure that they can at least try to accomplish their dreams."

"How do you know so much?"

"I'm a member." Naruto replied with a grin as he showed her the back of the coat "This is the symbol that we use. We are the fading light that will not be extinguished. We won't fail where others have."

"Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Because it was too dangerous. We just recently got ourselves established firmly and we will be seeking to expand our power soon. I wanted to at least tell you this much."

"Is there more?" Hinata asked looking at Naruto as he looked at the ground "Naruto-kun..."

"I can't say anymore at the moment. I've already broken code by telling you this much. When we join we are supposed to act in the best interest of the group, not ourselves. My telling you all of this has no gain for the group and a lot of loss if you tell the wrong people."

"Do you think I will?"

"No. That's why I am telling you. Soon you are going to start hearing a lot about us, and I just want you to know that while some of the actions may be true, none of the reasons that you hear from the people will be."

"I see. And what do they have planned for Konaha?"

"I can't tell you." Naruto said as he looked at her "There is too much at stake to tell you, or anyone from Konaha. I don't want you taken to Ibiki because I told you information and you refuse to explain to them how you know it."

"I see. If you think that this is best then I will trust you." Hinata smiled as she kissed him "Besides if you are a member this group cannot be all that bad."

"I would hope not. We seek world peace, but sometimes the only way to fix something is to break it again. We had to do that in Kaminari no Kuni. They split into factions when we made our proposal and so we had to fight and take over to make sure that things would turn out for the best." Naruto explained.

"The death of a few to save many." Hinata replied "I know how that is. We aren't children any more Naruto. We all know that sometimes the only way to bring peace is to kill those that would seek to destroy it."

"Yeah, but we don't have to like it. At least we can say that we try talking things out first, before we get violent."

"That's all that anyone could ask for."

With that the two continued talking about their lives, learning about the details that they hadn't or wouldn't put onto paper. By late nightfall the two had fallen asleep in Hinata's tent, wrapped in each others arms. The next day Naruto and Hinata were sitting on the heads again when Naruto took out a kunai that was glowing.

"What's that?" Hinata asked.

"A signal. I'm needed back with Yugure." he sighed.

"Do you have to go?"

"Unfortunately yes. But I will come see you again as soon as I get the chance." Naruto promised "Besides I will still write to you, and who knows, maybe we will meet again soon."

"I suppose... Well be safe." Hinata smiled as they kissed, deepening it as Naruto's tongue started probing Hinata's mouth, earning a moan from her. After the separated Hinata fought the urge to faint as Naruto grinned and disappeared in a flash, leaving her standing there before she gave in to the fainting, a smile on her face.

Naruto appeared in his room as one of the messengers walked in.

"What is it?" Naruto asked "What was so important that I was needed back so quickly?"

"Sir, we have news that is rather important." the shinobi said.

"Fine..." Naruto sighed as he grabbed his mask, placing it over his face. Walking behind the man he arrived in the meeting room to see that Tanuki was there.

"Kitsune. We have news." Tanuki said.

"What news?"

"We have the whereabouts of the two missing jinchuruki. They are currently hiding in Shimo no Kuni."

"I see. This is good fortune. They are close enough where we can get them here and offer them protection from the Akatsuki."

"Yes, but there is a problem Kitsune."

"What is that?"

"They are being pursued, by the Akatsuki."

"Do we know which members?"

"There are four of them from what we understand. One group we assume is Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, while the other group we have no idea."

"Fine. I need a squad ready to move out, and alert Nami that I require her assistance." he ordered as Tanuki nodded before walking off. Once the squad had gathered Nami skipped in. She was very short, only at Naruto's stomach in height, and her black hair had been brushed to shine. She wore black pants and a black shirt with the golden sunburst taking up almost the entire front of the shirt. On her back was a small kodachi and she wore a mask almost identical to Haku's before he had been killed, with the exception that the swirl pattern was blue instead of red.

"So we get to go play?" Nami asked happily.

"Yeah, we get to play with the Akatsuki today." he nodded as he looked to the four nin that made up the rescue squad "Alright, you all know the plan. Nami and I will go hold off the Akatsuki while you all locate the the two jinchuruki. Do not engage them, they are to be saved not killed. Make sure that you get them across the border into Kaminari no Kuni as quickly as you can. Understood?"

"Yes sir." the four nodded as they each grabbed hands and Kitsune warped them to their hideout in Shimo no Kuni. Once they walked out they quickly checked the coordinates of where they each were supposed to go and split up, with Kitsune and Nami quickly moving to cut off the four Akatsuki members. After near an hour of running the pair found the four Akatsuki members.

"You shall go no further." Kitsune said as the two of them stopped in front of them. Looking down at the four Kitsune quickly recognized the four. Itachi stood by Kisame, he looked a little more haggard then he had the last time. Kisame seemed the same, his shark grin plastered on his face as he saw the pair. Next to them were Sasori, known as Akasuna no Sasori from his his time in Sunagakure, a small hunchbacked person so it seemed but the two Yugure members both knew that that form was a puppet that was controlled from the inside by his real form. Beside him was Deidara the Iwa bomber, who was well known for his terrorist acts before he had become a member of the Akatsuki.

"What do we have here. Two people stand before us, with one, if not both, of them wearing the sunburst of Yugure." Sasori noted "You must be confident if you are here to fight us."

"Confidence comes with ability." Kitsune retorted.

"So it does." Sasori nodded "However I believe that it is pretentious of you to think that you both can oppose the four of us."

"Is it? Well there is only one way to find out." he laughed "Shall we?"

"It seems that there is no other way." Itachi nodded as he prepared for a fight while Kisame swung Samehada down. Nodding Kitsune and Nami took off, Kitsune heading straight for Itachi and Kisame, unleashing a quick spinning kick on Itachi who went skidding back from the blow as Kitsune ducked and weaved around Kisame's massive weapon. Nami stopped in front of the pair and looked at them for a moment before asking them "Do you want to play with me?"

"Play?" Sasori asked.

"Yeah." she nodded.

"Well maybe we will play. But first answer a question."

"Ok." Nami laughed as Deidara looked at Sasori confused.

"My partner here and I have been having a debate for some time and maybe you can help decide it." he said "We are arguing over what true art is. Do you think that art is something that should last throughout the ages or something that should be there for a second before it fades away."

"Like fireworks?" Nami asked.

"I suppose..." Deidara muttered "But my art is better then fireworks."

"Really?" Nami asked "I like fireworks, they are so pretty and bright!"

"SEE!" Deidara exclaimed while Sasori shook his head.

"But I like drawing too, Kitsune has taken me to a few museums to look at art work there. I like those too." Nami giggled.

"See." Sasori laughed "She has sense, she can appreciate art in all of it's forms."

"I suppose." Deidara sighed.

"So can we play now?" Nami asked looking at the two.

"I suppose. But we only play with our art." Deidara said as he reached into his two bags at his side before taking out two clay birds.

"Oh, that's pretty."

"Yeah, well you know what they say." he laughed as one turned into a bird that he leapt onto and took off into the air before sending the second one down to destroy her "Art is a BLAST!" An explosion tore through the ground, covering it in a cloud of dust as Sasori moved out of it, extending his poison tail into it to try and bring out the corpse, or so he thought it would be the corpse when he suddenly felt something land on his tail and was running along it, out of the cloud. Nami appeared out of the cloud, leaping into the air where she started a massive amount of hand signs.

" Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu(Water Dragon Bullet Technique)" she shouted as a large water dragon appeared, smashing into Sasori crushing the puppet. Grinning Nami landed among the wreckage before flipping away from a poison blade that rose from the real Sasori as he emerged from the wreckage.

"That was unexpected." he noted.

"Yeah. She didn't even use a body of water." Deidara noted as he sent down a massive stream of bombs at the young girl who had already started another set of hand signs.

"Suiton: Suijinheki(Water Encampment Wall)." she said as she created the water barrier, letting it stop all of the explosions from hitting her.

"This girl is good. She must be a prodigy in order to use these techniques with no water source." Sasori said as he took out a scroll, releasing the Sandaime Kazikage.

"This is fun! Don't stop now!" Nami laughed as she continued the battle.

During all of this Kitsune was using only his taijutsu skills to duck and weave around the two while still managing to get attacks in on the two despite their efforts.

"He isn't half bad." Kisame grinned as he swung Samehada at him, noticing that it wasn't eating any chakra.

"He is rather powerful." Itachi nodded as he sent a fireball at Kitsune who rolled away from it before he stopped and sighed loudly.

"I was hoping to not have to draw these, but since this is getting tiring I have no choice."

"What?" Kisame and Itachi said at the same time as Kitsune drew his two swords.

"I will let you taste true terror before I finish with you." he vowed as he charged forward, swinging Geiru at Itachi, who ducked around the slash as Kisame swung Samehada down on him as he raised Reijingu-fū to block. Suddenly Samehada let out a scream of pain as it moved away from the katana that was touching it and Kisame leapt away looking concerned.

"What is wrong?" Itachi asked.

"It's Samehada. It's crying in pain." he said looking at Kitsune "It's saying that that sword was trying to cut it in two."

"That's ridiculous." Itachi muttered "How could that sword do any damage to Samehada?"

"Because of the type of sword that it is." Kitsune replied looking at them "You should know it's name Kisame, Reijingu-fū." Kisame stiffened at that name before nodding his head "It's one of a set of five, this sword, being the sword of wind enhances my elemental affinity greatly. Samehada was right. My sword was trying to cut it in two." Swinging the blade to make a point, the slash tore through the ground, even though the blade never touched it.

"A Wind affinity." Itachi noted "No wonder you aren't using any ninjutsu against us, you would be at a disadvantage with my fire affinity."

"Not really. I just didn't want to end this too quickly." he shrugged as he charged at them swinging both the swords as he flowed from one strike to the next as though it were some deadly dance. Kisame was worried, he knew that he couldn't use Samehada against the masked blonde since it would be damaged even more and his ninjutsu was next to useless with the lack of water near by, however he couldn't keep dodging forever. Suddenly Kitsune let out a burst of chakra and kicked Kisame, sending him flying into a massive pile of rocks several dozen yards away. Turning he faced Itachi and started speaking while slashing at the Uchiha.

"So tell me, why do you continue to serve Akatsuki?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked.

"You must be here for a reason that I don't know of, especially since it couldn't be for Konaha any more." Kitsune continued as he noticed Itachi blink "So tell me, why would you stay with a group when the information that you are reporting back to your home isn't even being used until it is far too late? Why do you stay with them, playing the villain when you could be doing something even more with your life. Tell me Itachi Uchiha, what is it that you want?"

Itachi was flustered by this and caught off guard as he was sent flying away as Kitsune dodged Samehada being swung where he had been standing.

"And what about you Kisame? Why do you serve Akatsuki? Is it because of some promise made to the man behind the curtain, or because you feel some loyalty to the true Yodaime Mizukage? Oh yes I know that Yagura was being controlled, but I don't know by who, but that isn't important right now. So tell me, do you fight with them because of loyalty or just because you enjoy being a force of destruction, because either one could be better used. You are loyal to a man who is just going to throw you away once your usefulness has ended. Or you just want to fight until there is no one left to fight or until you are dead and there are better things to do with your life then senseless destruction. So tell me Kisame Hoshigaki, what is it that you want?" Kitsune asked as he forced the nin to dodge around his blades moving him further away. Suddenly his com-link went off, alerting him and Nami that the two jinchuruki had been recovered and they were over the border.

"Well it seems that we are out of time for today." Kitsune laughed as he sheathed his swords "Think on what I have said today, I can only tell you this, your talents could be much better used."

"Bye bye." Nami giggled "It was fun playing with you two. Let's play again sometime." With that Nami leapt over by Kitsune who picked her up and took off at a sprint, leaving the four Akatsuki members standing there on the battlefield confused.

"What just happened?" Deidara asked.

"We were distracted." Sasori stated "By a little girl."

"That was no little girl." Deidara growled "That girl was something else."

Itachi stood there staring in the direction that Kitsune had left in, his mind in havoc over what Kitsune had said. He had known the truth about him and his leaving of Konaha, that only four living people to this day knew about, other then himself. Shaking his head he knew that Kitsune wouldn't have said those things if he didn't expect Itachi to look into them and Itachi had a feeling that what he was going to find was exactly what Kitsune wanted him to find. Kisame was just a shaken as Itachi. No one was supposed to know about Yagura being controlled, only him and the guy in the mask. Now here was some guy in another mask spouting out that information like it was nothing. And what he was saying was true. Why was Kisame still there. It wasn't for the destruction that much was certain, but he wasn't so sure that it was for the loyalty that he stayed. He knew that he wouldn't be allowed to leave simply because of the fact that he was the only other person to know about the master plan, the real reason that they were gathering the Biju. Frowning the two partners looked at each other and nodded before walking away.

"Where are you two going?" Deidara shouted.

"There is no reason to be here. They were sent to distract us while the Yonbi and the Gobi were taken across the border into Kaminari no Kuni, the one country that we cannot get into." Itachi replied "So we are leaving." Without looking back the two walked away, both deep in thought and both barely noticing the other man that they walked beside.

Kitsune and Nami once clear of the Akatsuki stopped to take a breather while Kitsune was checking Nami for any injuries and was pleased to see that she had none.

"You did good today." he nodded to her.

"Thanks." she laughed "I had fun playing with them."

"How many puppets did you break?"

"Only the one. That other puppet he took out was way to strong for me." Nami sighed.

"That's fine. You are still growing. One day you will be stronger then all of his puppets put together." Kitsune laughed as Nami looked at him.

"Really?" she asked with hope.

"Definitely." he nodded. With a cheer she hugged him as he warped to where the squad had agreed to meet. After the scenery settled Kitsune noted the two new comers. One was an older man with red hair and beard, wearing purple pants and shirt, with brown armor over it. On his head was a brown head piece that showed his Iwagakure headband as well as a ring on the right side of the protector, while below this was a strap of metal that ran over the bridge of his nose and around his head. The other man was wearing red armor that covered his entire body, and the lower half of his face. On his back was a furnace and he wore a red kasa on his head with his headband wrapped around his forehead. Over the armor he wore a black gi and he had black gloves on his hand. Overall both of them were different yet they seemed bound together.

"Who are you two?" the one in the armor asked in an angry tone.

"My codename is Kitsune. Hers is Nami. We were sent to delay the Akatsuki from capturing and killing you two while our comrades escorted you here where the Akatsuki can no longer get you without declaring war on every nation that have ties to." he said as he took a seat, making a hand sign that the others were to leave the general area while he talked with these two. Once the order was complied with Naruto removed the mask and looked at the two.

"Let's do this again. My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." he said.

"Namikaze?" the one in purple huffed "So you are his kid."

"I take it you know of my father."

"Of course I do. He is well hated in Iwa." the man nodded.

"So what may I call you two?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Roshi. The jinchuruki of the Yonbi." Roshi nodded.

"Han. Gobi." the other nodded.

"OK. Anyway I am here to make you two an offer."

"Offer?" Han asked.

"Yeah. You see, Yugure seeks to gather the jinchuruki, so that they may be safe, and if they so choose, to fight against those who would threaten them." Naruto began "We would like you both to join us."

"Why should we?" Roshi asked.

"Because the Akatsuki are hunting you. And if I can help it, I would have all of the jinchuruki standing together."

"What do you know about the jinchuruki?" Roshi asked.

"I know that they are always related to a kage." Naruto began as he let Roshi start to piece together what he was saying "I know that they are hated by their homes, often chased out or banished. I also know that they can be the strongest of shinobi and even become kage's if they have the drive to do so."

"I see..." Roshi grinned as he realized the fact "Which one are you?"

"The Kyubi." Naruto nodded as Han's eyes widened "I was banished because of their fear, and I created Yugure because of it."

"So we are speaking to the boss." Roshi grinned "Alright, well you have already saved us but I have to ask, why should we join you?"

"For starters, we have two other jinchuruki among our ranks so you wouldn't be alone. The entire organization knows about us and accepts us. And we can guarantee that we will do all within our power to help you meet your dreams." Naruto said "What are your dreams?" The pair looked at each other before Roshi started speaking again.

"Me, well I don't really have any dreams any more. I've hit that age where they just fade away." Roshi replied "But if I have to say one, I always dreamed of leading people. Maybe not into battle, but to lead them, to do something great with a group, to say "We did this together"."

"A very honorable dream." Naruto nodded as he looked at Han who seemed lost in thought. After a few moments he spoke.

"Family. I dream of having a family..."

"Family. I can understand that desire. Han, it may not be much, but you can be part of my family. You can be my brother." Naruto said as he offered a hand while the man stared at him before hugging him.

"Brothers don't shake hands, brothers hug." he said as he started crushing Naruto. After a few moments Naruto was released and Roshi was snickering.

"You probably just did something that can never be revoked." the older man noted.

"I don't mind. So will you two be joining us?" Naruto asked.

"I will." Han nodded.

"I have no reason to decline. Besides now that Iwa has cast us out I can do some good here. You control your beast yet?" Roshi asked.

"Yes and no." Naruto said as he let out a loud whistle that told them they were allowed to start moving again.

"What do you mean?" Roshi asked "Either you do or you don't."

"Well, the thing is that I can control it in a different way where I don't have the tails showing. That I can fully control, but where the tails are showing, I can control up to six with just the chakra around me, and when I combine it into a human form I can get to eight tails, but I almost swallowed by the Kyubi." Naruto explained.

"Odd. What did you do to get this?"

"Well the full control was thanks to a training method that the jinchuruki of the Hachibi taught me, while the others are just pure force of will."

"I see. Well I might be able to help you out. I do have full control of my demon, and Han here has almost full control himself, but the Irukauma(Dolphin Horse) is really laid back and is willing to work with humans." Roshi replied.

"It's true. But he doesn't want to help more then he feels that you are worthy of." Han replied. Nodding Naruto continued to talk to the pair until the returned to Kumogakure where the pair were taken to rooms where they could relax and money to get anything that they wanted to get from the city.


	3. Nanabi and Ichibi

_AN* Ok, here is the third chapter, and there is going to be a poll on my profile, deciding if I am to keep this strictly NaruHina or if I should expand it to a small harem. I will leave it up to you the readers. Now I will respond to the reviews for the last chapter, to encourage you to review more._

_Rose Tiger: I agree with you there._

_Angels will bleed from pain: You will see._

_bigking: Well since he is never shown in the anime or the manga alive I decided to go off of what Deidara inferred. He said that the first two jinchuruki hated humanity, and Han was confirmed to be one of those two, so I thought that the best way to have him join would be because of family. He was a pariah, so having a brother who treats him like an equal seemed like a good idea. As for the hugging, well that was more for the LOL's._

_Notgonnasay09: Trust me, Naruto has his ways, and I've already inferred as to how he has the information on Itachi and anything else that I will reveal he knows about Konahagakure._

_warrior of six blades: Well the wait is over now._

_ultimate emperor: Well since this story doesn't focus on them too much there won't always be bashing in every single chapter, but where there is I will have them insulted and humiliated as much as possible without throwing off the tempo of the story._

_Suave Jiraya: First, I will explain the reasoning behind why they didn't go the rated M category just yet later in the story. Second I really don't care for Sasuke or Sakura that much so I will hurt them as much as I possibly can get away with. Third, I like the AsumaxKurenai pairing, so I use it. Fourth, I always try to show what is going on with Konaha every chapter, I don't go too much in to details since that messes with the flow of the story but I will almost always show them in the chapter. Lastly, I do apologize about that massive paragraph, I thought it was too long but went against my better judgement on that._

_Ok, now that all of the replies are done let's get on to the reason that all of you are here, the story._

_Nanabi and Ichibi_

For the following days Naruto reviewed the reports that his diplomats were sending him, and noting how several countries wanted to meet with the leader of Yugure before they could say anything for certain. Frowning at these requests he decided that the best way to deal with this would be to comply with them and hope that they would at least listen to what he had to say.

"Let's see. I need to visit Takigakure today, and hopefully convince them to join us, and if things go well I can also visit with Sunagakure. I'd like to get one of the big ones out of the way today." Naruto muttered as he dressed that morning. Once ready he grabbed his mask and Hiraishined to the rooms where his diplomats were at.

"Kitsune." one of the diplomats nodded "The leader, Shibuki is waiting for you."

"Thank you. I will go see him now." he nodded as he walked out of the room, walking down the hall where he found the meeting room. Sitting at a table was a single man, with long dark brown hair and inky black eyes. He wore gray pants and a green shirt and had the headband for Takigakure on his forehead. Kitsune nodded to the leader of the village as he took a seat.

"So you are the infamous leader of Yugure." Shibuki noted.

"That I am."

"I figured you would be bigger."

"Don't judge by size. Often the smallest of people can prove to be the greatest of fighters."

"True. So your diplomats tell me that you wish to form an alliance with us. I did not know that you were a country." Shibuki grinned.

"We are not. We however have two countries backing us, Kaminari no Kuni and Haru no Kuni."

"So why us?"

"To be blunt, we seek all of the lands to join us. We seek to unite the world, to create world peace. That is why we have sent emissaries to almost every country." Kitsune replied.

"And what would we gain out of this partnership?"

"Technology, trade and training." Kitsune replied.

"Really. Care to explain."

"Of course. Haru no Kuni is developing great technological wonders that are at the disposal of Yugure and all of it's allies, so anyone that agrees to join us is given the right to get these. Trade is the next big one. You would be given access to far off lands that you wouldn't have been able to reach before. Tell me, have you ever traded with Nami no Kuni?"

"No we have not. They are too far off for trade to be practical."

"That would change with us. Nami no Kuni is likely to join us soon, once I visit them to sign the treaty. If you ally with us you will be able to get such rarities that your country will flourish."

"And training?"

"That is the most important to a shinobi, like yourself. We will have members of Yugure come and help train your shinobi, to make them a greater force to be reckoned with. We will make your village a true world power before we are done."

"I see. You know that we have an alliance with Konaha." Shibuki remarked.

"I do. That is the one thing that we will ask that you change."

"What do you mean?"

"Our organization seeks to allow all of it's members a chance to accomplish their dreams, and one of our members wants Konaha destroyed for what they did to him."

"And you are going to do this?"

"I will." Kitsune nodded "For the greater good I will fight against Konaha without a moments hesitation."

"Greater good? What greater good?" Shibuki spat.

"The unification of the entire elemental nations. I will have all of them standing together in a true peace. Once forged from trust and understanding, with Yugure maintaining that peace."

"That sounds more like a conquered world."

"It isn't. We will be at the mercy of the people, they will choose which ones of us will be working for them, who will be best serving their interest."

"So if they called for you to step down you would?" Shibuki asked in surprise.

"With a smile on my face and offer my services to the next leader of Yugure." Kitsune nodded "We seek a true peace, but that can only be achieved by eliminating those that would seek to destroy it."

"I don't know..."

"Tell me, do you remember a young blonde haired Konaha shinobi that helped save this place?"

"Yes, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Do you know that he was banished?"

"Yes. Konaha never explained what happened, but we trusted them, and assumed that he broke some law and he was punished accordingly." Shibuki replied.

"Then you have been fooled." Kitsune sighed as he removed the mask.

"NARUTO!"

"The one and only." he sighed as he looked at Shibuki "Let me tell you the real reason why I was banished." With that Naruto retold his tale, of chasing down Sasuke, of how he had battled with him at the Valley of the End, and how he had been banished for simply beating Sasuke up too much. Shibuki listened in shock, he had never expected to hear that Naruto had done nothing wrong, and worse had only done his job.

"Naruto, I am sorry." Shibuki said.

"Save it. I don't want an apology. The only thing I want from you is for you to ally with Yugure." Naruto grinned.

"Won't be diverted I see." he sighed "Very well. I can not in good faith keep dealing with Konaha knowing this. We will cut off our ties with them and will ally ourselves with you."

"That is all I needed to hear." Naruto smiled as he stood up and shook Shibuki's hand "Once the papers are all drawn up we will become official allies, until then I will leave my diplomatic party here, in case Konaha decides to get violent over you severing yourself from them."

"Thank you." Shibuki nodded "Is there anything else?"

"Just one more thing. Who is the jinchuruki of the Nanabi?"

"You mean Fu?" Shibuki asked confused "Why are you interested in her?"

"I have business with her. Where can I find her?"

"She lives up in the tree where we get the Hero Water from." Shibuki replied "Up near the top."

"Thank you." Naruto nodded as he left the meeting, walking out into the town and crossing the water to where the tree stood. Climbing up Naruto noted that there were a lot of bugs up near the top, and most gave way to him, though a few watched him from a distance. Stopping Naruto saw a small hollowed out area where the bark was worn down from constant travel. Walking over to the branch he stopped when he heard buzzing around him, only to see thousands of insects surrounding him.

"I wouldn't go any further than that." a woman's voice said from the door in the tree "They wouldn't hesitate in killing you."

"I doubt that they would be able to stop me." Naruto mused as he stared at the door "But since it would be discourteous to not listen to my hostess I will wait until you are willing to let me inside." With that Naruto stood and stared at the door for several minutes before it was opened and a young woman walked out. She was shorter than Naruto, with mint green hair with an orange hair clip in it, orange eyes that showed distrust at the world. She wore a white sleeveless shirt that showed her midriff and the fishnet armor underneath it, a white apron skirt with fishnet shorts on underneath that, white armlets that covered her entire forearms with her headband was wrapped around her right arm and on her back was a red cylindrical object. Fu stared at Naruto for several seconds before she spoke.

"I've never seen you before. You come to stare at me like all of the other foreigners?" she spat.

"Not at all. I've come to make you an offer." Naruto replied "If I may come inside so we may speak in comfort."

"Fine..." Fu said as she nodded at the bugs to let him pass. Walking in Naruto noted that the furnishings were all very simple and that each was handmade.

"So what is your offer?" Fu asked as she took a seat.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."

"You're one of the Konaha shinobi that help save this place."

"I was. However I am no longer a Konahagakure shinobi, I was banished for doing my job. For the hatred towards me for a burden that we both bare." Naruto said as Fu eyed him warily.

"What do you mean..."

"I am a jinchuruki, of the Kyubi." Naruto said as he took a seat "It's because of this that I know your pain. I've come to offer you to join my organization, to become one of our numbers."

"To be a weapon." Fu spat "I've heard it before."

"Not a weapon." Naruto shook his head "To be a member. At the moment we have five jinchuruki, counting myself, as members of our organization. We seek all of them so we can protect them from the Akatsuki."

"Why? Surely the rest of the humans would want us gone."

"Not with Yugure, everyone accepts us for what we are and if others do not then that is there problem, we want everyone to have a chance to accomplish their dreams. Tell me Fu, do you have any dreams?"

"Dreams?" Fu asked.

"Yeah. Goals, or something that you want to do before you die." Naruto explained.

"I suppose I do. I want to be accepted, not feared and hated."

"I understand. The life of a jinchuruki can be a lonely one, especially when you are hated and despised by those that you protect." Naruto nodded "If you join us I can promise that you will not be hated or discriminated. That you will be given all of the respect that you are due."

"How can you guarantee that?"

"Because I am the one in charge of this organization. I created it after I was banished from Konaha, an organization where anything is possible and we all look out for each other." Naruto smiled "And let me at least tell you what you will be given when you join us."

"Fine..." Fu muttered.

"You will be given a codename, to use when out in the field. The jinchuruki's are already assigned, with yours being Kabutomushi."

"Very original." Fu snorted as Naruto just stared at her.

"Anyways, you will also be given a mask that can hide your chakra from others when you channel it into the mask. And you will be given command over your own regiment of shinobi."

"Command?" Fu exclaimed "I get to be in charge?"

"Of course. All of the jinchuruki are given their own unit to command, with each one being tailored to that one's personal style. My unit is a combat unit for example. What are your strengths?"

"I've always been a spy, keeping track of the enemies thanks to my ability with bugs." Fu replied.

"Then your unit can be in charge of gathering intel. That unit has been reporting to Tanuki but I can have them start reporting to you once you are ready to join." Naruto nodded.

"I don't know... This is a big decision."

"I know. However I think you are ready for this. You seem to be strong and while you still have hatred in you, I think that time with Yugure will help you sort that out." Naruto nodded.

"I guess..."

"Look, you don't have to choose right this second, but keep in mind that we would be more then happy to have you among our numbers." Naruto grinned "If you have any questions feel free to send them to Kumogakure, I will receive them from there." Nodding he stood up and walked out of her home, walking down the tree until he was on the ground. He wasn't more then halfway across the lake when suddenly he was smashed into the water by a heavy force. Surfacing he saw that Fu had leapt down from the top of the tree and landed on top of him, knocking him into the water.

"I decided. I want to join you." Fu grinned as Naruto shook his head at her.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked.

"Of course it was." Fu laughed as she helped him up. Sighing Naruto walked back to Shibuki, letting him know that Fu was coming with him and that she was now a member of Yugure.

"So she is no longer one of our shinobi?" he asked.

"That's right. She is now one of my comrades." Naruto nodded as Fu handed back the headband.

"Very well. I thank you for your service to our village Fu, and hope that things turn out well for you where ever you go." Shibuki nodded at her "Now I must excuse myself while I make sure that all of the papers are drawn up correctly."

"Of course. Thank you." Naruto nodded as Fu just watched him go. With that the pair returned to Kumogakure where Naruto let her go to her rooms and then receive a tour of the village.

"Roshi, Bee." Naruto said as he saw the two older jinchuruki.

"Yes?" Roshi asked as the pair stopped.

"Get your masks. We are heading to Sunagakure, I intend to have them become our allies today, no delays." Naruto said as he took out his mask.

"No need to crash, we'll be ready in a flash!" Bee grinned as the two headed off to gather what they would need in order to handle the harsh heat. Twenty minutes later the pair were ready and were warping to Suna. Once they arrived they stood inside the the village walls, with a group of Sunagakure shinobi quickly surrounding them.

"You are from Yugure?" one asked.

"Yes." Kitsune nodded "We are here to see the Kazikage and the council"

"Of course. I will escort you to the tower." the man nodded as they walked. Once inside the tower they saw that a meeting was just about to conclude.

"Kazikage-sama, councilors. I am sorry for the interruption however three representatives from Yugure have just arrived." the man said as the three walked in.

"Good afternoon. You may call me Kitsune, and my comrades are O Ushi and Saru." Kitsune said as his companions nodded.

"Good afternoon to you as well. What brings you three here today." Gaara asked as he set the Kazikage hat down.

"We have come to discuss the finishing touches on our alliance with you." Kitsune replied.

"Of course." a councilor nodded "There are some details that we need to clear up of course however overall we see nothing wrong with this contract."

"That is fortunate. What matters do we need to clear up?" Kitsune asked.

"The matters of trade. According to what you have explained to us, we are not allowed to trade with certain countries, such as Hi no Kuni. This complicates matters since they are a large nation and many different goods move through them." the man began.

"That is only a temporary problem." Kitsune nodded "As we speak Haru no Kuni is finishing the production of a massive fleet of airships. With these we intend to use them to transport goods between our allies. This will solve that small difficulty that you are having, so until then please trade as much as you can by sea."

"Very well. Now the matter of allowing Yugure rights or command in war time situations." Baki began as he read over the papers "I question why this is necessary."

"Simple. In war with multiple allies things can get confusing with one nation trying to stand higher then another. This is to make sure that all the groups stand equal, with Yugure who is made up of many different nations shinobi, will lead the battles with no sense of favoritism. This is to ensure the loss of life is decreased and we have seen that this does work well with the rebellions in Kaminari no Kuni."

"And one last thing. You say that we are to allow you to set up secret bases in our land. I for one do not approve of this." another councilor remarked.

"This is to allow us to have many safe houses for our operatives. We need to make sure that they have places to stay away from the public eye and that we can respond to many different problems in many different areas. In all honesty whenever I lead a mission I warp straight to the closest base, or will warp my operatives there. This saves on travel time and ensures that objectives can be made quickly." Kitsune replied "We do not ask for anything that is unreasonable."

"No you do not. And now that we have explanations, I see no reason not to agree with this." Gaara nodded "I say that we agree to this alliance." Murmurs spread throughout the councilors as they one by one rose and agreed that this was a wise course of action. Once finished they ended their meeting for the day as Gaara looked at Kitsune.

"You did good work here today." Gaara nodded.

"Thanks Tanuki." Kitsune grinned as he turned on his heel "I expect that paperwork ready in three days."

"It will be. You will be staying here?"

"Why not. Even I get tired of the mountains of Kaminari no Kuni." Kitsune chuckled as the three Yugure walked off to find a hotel to stay at.

In Konahagakure Tsunade was going over several files when she noticed one that was a letter from Gaara about coming to Sunagakure, to discuss some matters that were of mutual interest. Sighing Tsunade checked over the date and sent a messenger bird back saying that she would arrive in three days.

"Shizune!" Tsunade shouted as she stood up, grabbing the kage robes and hat.

"Yes?" she exclaimed as she ran in "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. The Godaime Kazikage has asked for me to travel to Sunagakure to discuss something that is of mutual interest to us. I intend to do this, so gather a squad of shinobi and have them meet me at the village gates in a few minutes." Tsunade said.

"Of course Tsunade-sama." Shizune nodded as she ran off to gather the appropriate shinobi as Hinata emerged from the shadows in full ANBU gear with a fox mask on.

"Shall I accompany you as well?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. You can travel out of the mask." Tsunade nodded as Hinata removed the mask and followed Tsunade.

"So why do you think Gaara wants to see you?" Hinata asked.

"It might be about Naruto. He knows that at least I still care about him along with several others, so he might want to discuss something with us." Tsunade replied as she walked. Nodding Hinata checked her supplies and noted that Shizune had already gathered the squad, with Kakashi, Shikamaru and much to her disdain, Sasuke standing there.

"We are ready whenever you are." Kakashi nodded to Tsunade.

"Good. The mission is to escort me to Kazi no Kuni and into Sunagakure where I will be having a meeting with the Godaime Kazikage." Tsunade explained as the four shinobi nodded to her and prepared to set out.

Outside of Sunagakure, a few days later, Deidara and Sasori approached. Sasori for his part was unable to construct a new giant puppet to hide inside of so he was wrapped in his old Akatsuki cloak as the two of them walked, having the usual argument. Once they arrived they stopped and Sasori let Deidara go about the capturing of the Ichibi.

Dawn arrived and Sunagakure was in an uproar. Gaara had been captured and the Akatsuki were to blame. Kitsune and his squad quickly checked on Kankuro who had been badly poisoned by fighting Sasori, and his Sandaime Kazikage puppet.

"Alright. Seems like we have work to do. O USHI, SARU!" Kitsune shouted as he turned to his comrades "Let's move out! We have a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time. I really wish we hadn't gone back to Kumo, but what's done is done."

"Yes sir." the two nodded as they took off at a run with Chiyo, who having done all that she could for Kankuro decided that she would come and help them stop Sasori.

"You do not have to accompany us." Saru stated.

"I know. But I cannot do anything more for Kankuro, it will come down to his own strength." she replied "But I can do something about my grandson."

"Then you are welcome to come along." Kitsune replied "Just keep up. They already have hours on us." Nodding the four took off at a run, but were delayed at the arrival of the Konahagakure team. Just at the gates Tsunade stopped and so did Kitsune and his group, with the two staring at each other.

"Hokage-sama." Kitsune nodded.

"Do I know you?" Tsunade asked as Chiyo glared at her and was about to attack Kakashi when Kitsune whispered something to her that calmed her down.

"Who is to say." Kitsune replied "As much as I would love to banter with you, we have a kage rescue."

"Gaara has been kidnapped?" Tsunade exclaimed.

"Yes, the Akatsuki got him last night. We happened to have left to go check in back home so we missed the battle. We intend to go after him." Kitsune replied.

"Then we will come with you." Tsunade replied.

"No. Hokage-sama, you are better suited here. Kankuro has been poisoned and needs the assistance of the greatest medical nin ever known. We will take three of you with us, no more." Kitsune replied.

"Who are you to order us around." Sasuke snapped as he suddenly had a blade at his throat.

"I am the leader of Yugure." Kitsune replied "And if I so choose I could have your head if it did not belong to another."

"What do you mean by that?" Tsunade asked "And refrain from threatening each other."

"I mean that I promised to let another take his life if they get the chance. I will not rob a comrade of what they are owed." Kitsune replied "Choose your three. We are running out of time."

"Sasuke, Hinata, Kakashi. You three go with them. Shikamaru and I will stay here and do what we can for the wounded." Tsunade ordered "Hinata, you are in charge."

"Understood." Hinata nodded. With that Kitsune took off at a run, thanking Kami that he had disguised himself enough where Hinata wasn't able to recognize him. As they ran they noted that they were heading into Kawa no Kuni.

"How are you tracking him?" Kakashi asked as they ran.

"The seal that I gave him." Kitsune replied "Gaara has been a member of Yugure for some time, but he was never officially among us until Sunagakure was. When he joined I gave him a seal that I could use to track him down. I can't really explain how it works, but I just know where he is, kind of like how you just know where your arm is, you can't really explain it but you know." Kakashi nodded at this, seeing how that made sense. It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at a massive boulder. With a nod Kitsune drew Reijingu-fū and slashed at the stone, making a deep gash that was quickly repaired.

"Thought so. We need something to destroy the entire stone." Kitsune said as he looked at everyone present "Does anyone have something that would fit the bill?"

"I do." Hinata replied as she walked up to the stone, placing a hand on it while using her byakugan combined with the ability to use chakra to increase strength. Using a modified jyuken Hinata shattered the stone, leaving a path open into the cave.

"Show time." Kitsune chuckled as he patted Hinata's shoulder "You do good work."

"Thank you." she nodded as she followed him inside to see that there was a massive statue with Sasori and Deidara on two fingers of it while shadow forms were on the other. Growling Kitsune struck, slashing off the flow that was trying to absorb Gaara's demon, ending the ritual.

"What just happened?" one of the shadowy figures asked as he looked at the group "You were followed Sasori, Deidara."

"It appears so. And by Yugure too." Sasori noted "Come to save the jinchuruki?"

"Of course." Kitsune replied as he handed an unconscious Gaara over to Hinata "Take care of him, if you can use the massive strength then you should be able to use medical ninjutsu as well."

"Of course." Hinata nodded as the statue started sinking into the ground and Sasori and Deidara prepared to fight.

"Saru, O Ushi. I want you to deal with the bomber." Kitsune said as the two nodded "I can't order you around, Konaha nin, but Sasuke and Kakashi, I would recommend that you go after him as well."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Raiton. That is the weakness of Iwa." he replied "And I know for a fact that you have Raiton techniques, since I have seen the scar that you left young Uzumaki-san." All of the Konaha nin stiffened at this. It was a detail that they liked to forget, or in Sasuke's case liked to pretend never happened, but with Kitsune stating it so bluntly they all knew that he knew more then he had let on.

"So what about you?" Hinata asked.

"I will deal with Sasori, with the help of Chiyo of course. I would like you to remain with Gaara and take care of him. I don't know how that procedure works but I do know that we interrupted it before it could do too much damage." Kitsune replied as they nodded. With that Deidara took off on a clay bird, heading outside where he would be able to fight to the best of his ability while the four nin chased after him. Inside Sasori had already taken out the Sandaime Kazikage and was facing Kitsune who had drawn his two swords.

"Well Sasori, let's test the durability of your art." he laughed as the former Kazikage attacked, sending a wave of metal sand at the blonde who dodged the attack with a grin, swinging Reijingu-fū and separating the wave of iron and making a small cut on the puppet.

"Interesting. Itachi and Kisame were not exaggerating your abilities with that sword of yours." Sasori noted.

"Of course not." Kitsune grinned "I wouldn't insult your art by holding back."

"Then allow me to bury you in it's beauty." Sasori laughed as they clashed. Kitsune flowed from one form to the next, slipping around the puppet and stopping the attacks from reaching him. Sasori was smiling at the battle, seeing that Kitsune had the real advantage in this battle. Laughing he activated one of the traps, letting the arms open up revealing the seals that held the hundreds of arms that would swarm Kitsune, burying him and injecting the poison that he was currently using. With a grin Kitsune struck, unleashing a series of simultaneous blows that destroyed the arms before they could get too close to him, and allowed him to get closer to the puppet. Leaping up into the air, Kitsune swung Reijingu-fū down, unleashing a slash of wind that smashed into the Sandaime Kazikage, cleaving him in two, followed by Kitsune landing and using Geiru to slash through the two halves, leaving the shattered puppet laying in the dirt.

"Impressive." Sasori nodded as he looked at Kitsune "I never expected you to cut down this puppet like it was nothing."

"Why should I hesitate destroying something that should have died a long time ago." Kitsune grinned.

"I see. Well that is not something that I can say most people would do. Many would hesitate if they faced the late Kazikage." Sasori remarked.

"Maybe, but I am not one of them. So tell me Sasori, why do you stay with the Akatsuki? Is it because you seek to perfect your art?"

"And if I do?" Sasori asked.

"You are wasting your talents then. How can you perfect your art when you can only show it on a few occasions, how can you grow as an artist if you cannot make your art into true beauty?" Kitsune asked as Sasori stared.

"Sasori..." Chiyo said looking at her grandson "Why did you join the Akatsuki?"

"I joined because I wanted to perfect my art." Sasori replied.

"Then join me." Kitsune replied "Join Yugure and allow your art to expand to a level beyond what you are currently at."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you could create puppets that will last through out the ages, puppets that can be used for more then just fighting, puppets that will ensure your title as the greatest puppet master for all eternity." Kitsune said as he looked at the young boy "And I can even promise you that you will be able to regain what you lost."

"What I lost?" Sasori asked "I do not know what you are talking about."

"Your human body. I can promise you that you will regain that body, and the ability to truly create puppets that will astonish and impress the world." Kitsune replied. Hinata watched the scene with mild confusion. Why was the leader of Yugure offering a member of Akatsuki to join him.

"Why are you offering me this?" Sasori asked, shaking his head "Why would you offer your enemies to join you?"

"Because I believe that everyone should have the chance to see where their dreams can take them. Tell me Sasori, what are your dreams?"

Sasori stared for a few moments before he decided to answer "I dreamed of being the greatest puppet master of all time. I wanted to make puppets that would last forever."

"And you still can. Join Yugure and I promise you that you will be given every chance to accomplish this dream and be remembered for greatness instead of feared." Kitsune said as he held out his hand to him. Sasori stared at Kitsune before nodding his head, seemingly to have a decision.

"Let's see if you are right. If you can best me one final time, against myself and my puppets that destroyed and an entire nation then I will leave the Akatsuki and take you up on your offer. Fail and I will end your life and will continue with what I have been doing." Sasori replied "I hope that you can meet my expectations."

"One way to find out." Kitsune replied as Chiyo and Hinata stepped forward.

"He won't be fighting alone." Chiyo replied as she took out a scroll and unleashed ten puppets, the ten that had belonged to the first puppet master. Hinata simply glared as she prepared to fight. With a grin Sasori summoned his one hundred puppets, sending them out to destroy the thirteen standing before him. With a nod Kitsune charged forward, swinging his blades and cutting down the puppets as Hinata followed suit using her jyuken and massive strength to destroy the puppets while Chiyo was using her ten puppets to perform combination attacks, that took down dozens of the puppets at a time. For several moments the battle raged until Kitsune was surrounded by several puppets and was about to be attacked when a wave of sand took them all down. Turning Gaara had stood up, looking tired but ready to fight.

"You never did watch your back." Gaara grinned.

"Coming from the man I had to come rescue." Kitsune remarked as he cut down another puppet. Charging forward Kitsune slashed through the few remaining puppets that surrounded Sasori before he clashed with the legendary puppet master, parrying poisoned blades and other dangerous weapons. Soon Kitsune had managed to slash off an arm of the puppet and was now severing the legs, trying to leave the puppet trapped and useless on the ground. Sasori however would have nothing to do with that as he he raised one of his arms and slashed at Kitsune, leaving a faint slash across his chest, forcing him to leap back and throw his swords into the offending arm. Stopping he started performing hand signs.

"Futon: Kyōfū setsudan(Severing Gale)." Kitsune replied as blades of wind slashed through the immobilized puppet, leaving the body laying on the ground with on the head and enough of the chest where the only real portion of Sasori hadn't been ejected.

"Looks like I have lost." Sasori sighed.

"Maybe, but you earned something even more." Kitsune replied as he looked down on the defeated man "It is a pleasure to have you among our ranks."

"Sasori." Chiyo murmured as she knelt by her grandson.

"Come on you two, let's give them some peace." Kitsune said as he walked out of the ruined cavern. As they left Hinata stopped Kitsune, saying how she needed to heal him before the poison started to take it's toll on his body. Grinning under his mask he let Hinata perform the jutsu on the wound, removing all traces of the poison before they infected his body anymore then they already had.

"There. That should do it. Just take it easy for a few days so your body can recover." Hinata ordered.

"Of course." Kitsune chuckled "Now let's go get those four before they blow up the entire area."

Outside while Kitsune and Sasori had battled Deidara had been battling the four nin with no success at all. O Ushi and Kakashi had proven that their Raiton techniques were too great for the bomber and he was now on the retreat, trying to avoid the long range attacks from the four nin as he circled the air, stopping only long enough to see that Sasori had been defeated before he fled, flying away quickly before the four could injure him.

"Coward." Sasuke spat as Saru looked at him.

"It would be foolish to chase after him, even with a Raiton affinity. If he is pushed too far he will do the unexpected and that could cause the loss of many other lives." Saru replied as he started walking back.

"So?" Sasuke asked as the two Yugure nin stopped and looked at him before shaking their heads.

"Kid was right, this boy's a blight." O Ushi sighed as they walked.

"True. You are one who would stab a man in the back if it gained you an inch. You are not one to be trusted and in fact should be put down. I see now why Kitsune has agreed to let you be killed." Saru nodded as he walked while Sasuke stared angrily at their backs.

"Sasuke, don't do anything stupid." Kakashi ordered "If you attack them they won't hesitate to kill you, even if it is to rob one of their comrades."

"Like they could kill me." Sasuke huffed as they walked. Once the two groups had met up they made their way back to Sunagakure, with Sasori abandoning the puppet body and having the small cylinder that was his only living part being carried by Chiyo until a new body could be created from his DNA. Upon their arrival they were welcomed like heroes returning, with cheers ringing and many people rushing up to see Gaara, over joyed that he was alive.

"Seems you are really popular." Kitsune noted as they walked.

"It would seem so." Gaara nodded "I am not sure how to react."

"Be happy." was the reply "And find a nice girl among all of these people, I'm willing to bet you that there is at least one that meets your tastes." Gaara only blushed at this as they walked while he looked at a young chunin who was smiling at him, batting her eyes once she realized that Gaara was looking at her. Once back at the Kazikage tower they meet up with Tsunade, Shikamaru, Temari and a fully recovered Kankuro.

"It's good to see that you are safe Gaara." Tsunade smiled as she shook Gaara's hand.

"Thank you Tsunade. I see that you sent most of your escort with to help rescue me." Gaara nodded "For that I am thankful."

"We all would have gone, but Kitsune said he would only take three of us." Tsunade replied.

"It was for the best that we stayed, after all too many of us and things might not have turned out so well." Shikamaru replied with a smirk as he stared at Kitsune, as though trying to solve a puzzle.

"Yes, now I believe that you wanted to discuss something with me Gaara." Tsunade said as she nodded to Kakashi for them all to leave the room, which everyone except Kitsune and Hinata complied with.

"You are going to stay?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, since I might have some explaining to do in a few minutes." Kitsune replied as he took a seat, pulling out a chair for Hinata. Nodding to him she sat down while Gaara and Tsunade also took their seats.

"So what did you want to talk about Gaara?" Tsunade asked.

"It concerns Naruto. I have had contact with him recently."

"Really? How is he?"

"He is well, and he sends his regards to you. However there is more to it then pleasantries. I am sure that you do not know this but Naruto is a member of Yugure."

"Really?" Tsunade asked with a frown "I never expected him to go to them."

"He is one of the founding members." Kitsune replied from his seat.

"Is that so..." Tsunade muttered.

"Would you like to explain?" Gaara asked.

"Fine. It will be faster this way." he nodded as he looked at Tsunade "Tsunade, while Yugure has nothing personally against you, Hinata and many others in your village, as a whole it has been the wish of one of our members that it is destroyed and we will abide by it."

"WHAT?" Tsunade shouted.

"I am sorry that we must discuss it like this. However your village has made far too many enemies and is now paying the price. Your banishing Naruto was the worst move that could have been made. You cost yourself almost every single ally that you had gained in the last six years. You no longer have the might that you once possessed." Kitsune replied.

"Why?" Tsunade growled.

"Because we promised to aid one of our members in accomplishing this goal. It is the one thing that we guarantee when a member joins, that their dream will be accomplished. And while it is the dream of the entire group to have world peace there are individual dreams that will be met along the way. Now I will not be going into all of the details however I will say this. No nation will trade with you that is allied with us, so you will no longer be receiving trade from Kaminari no Kuni, Haru no Kuni, Kazi no Kuni, Taki no Kuni, and Nami no Kuni. With more names to follow."

"This is ridiculous..."

"Know this however, we intend to at least spare as many as we can when we strike. We will be visiting Konahagakure to explain this to your entire council, but you have the right to know what is going to happen." Kitsune replied "As I said, we have nothing personal against you. We would actually offer membership to you and many others if we could. But for now it is not possible."

"I see. I... I thank you for telling me this." Tsunade nodded "What will happen to the civilians when this happens?"

"That is not for me to reveal." Kitsune replied "The one who will reveal all will come before you in due time."

"I see... Is there any way to stop this?"

"There is one way, but it will not be done thanks to your council." Kitsune chuckled.

"What way?"

"Reverse the banishment on Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze and all is forgiven." Kitsune replied as he started laughing. Hinata stared at him, not knowing why he was laughing but hoping that Tsunade would reverse it.

"I can't. I wish I could every single day, but I cannot. Not without a mass majority of the shinobi council and the civilian council and at least two of the elders." Tsunade sighed.

"And that is why there is no redemption for your village." Kitsune replied as he stood up "I am sorry that you cannot reverse it, but know that I will try to spare your life if I can."

"That won't be necessary. Konahagakure won't be crushed so easily." Tsunade replied.

"I know. That is why when the time comes there will be nothing left but dust on the wind, and may Kami have mercy on our souls when it is done." Kitsune replied as he walked out of the room. Hinata was stunned by this turn of events. It seemed that Kitsune held Naruto in high regard to make such a demand to avoid war, but he seemed more concerned with making sure that the destruction was complete and total.

"Tsunade, I am going to go talk to him." Hinata said as she stood up.

"Fine." Tsunade nodded as she turned to talk to Gaara some more. Running out of the room Hinata saw Kitsune waiting for her at the end of the hall.

"About time." he chuckled "I have a message for you."

"From Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Of course. He wanted me to tell you to meet him on top of the tower tonight. He will arrive then." Kitsune replied as he started walking away.

"Wait!"

"What?" Kitsune asked as he looked at her.

"Could you at least tell me which one of your members wants to destroy Konahagakure?"

"I can't. As I said, the one who wishes it will be revealed in due time. He will come to speak to Konahagakure's council." Kitsune replied "Remember, tonight." With that the leader walked off leaving Hinata very confused. That night Hinata was atop of the tower when a flash of orange appeared and Naruto was standing right next to her. Smiling he kissed her and sat down on the edge of the tower with her.

"So I heard you fought alongside the boss." Naruto began.

"Yeah. He used two swords like you do." Hinata replied.

"We fight almost identical to each other. We were trained by the same people." Naruto grinned.

"Naruto-kun. I know about someone in Yugure wanting to destroy Konahagakure." Hinata began.

"Yeah..." Naruto trailed off.

"Do you know who it is?" Hinata asked.

"What difference would it make if I told you? It will still happen even if that person suddenly dies. We promised them that it would and we will not go back on our word." Naruto replied, a cold edge coming into his voice that slightly scared Hinata. Naruto noticed this and wrapped an arm around her and smiled.

"Listen Hinata-chan, even if the attack does happen I will promise that you will be kept safe." Naruto grinned.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I can offer you a way out of Konaha. Kitsune has decided that you can become a member of Yugure. We are always looking for powerful shinobi and we never turn anyone away."

"But I have my duties back in Konaha, I can't just abandon them."

"I know. But the offer still stands, and you can accept it at any time." Naruto smiled as he took out a tri-pronged kunai "Here, all you have to do is roll this in your hand three times and it will let me know that you need to see me. Only use this in emergencies, and even then not too often. It takes a lot of chakra to use this technique."

"I understand." Hinata nodded as he tightened his hug on her, starting to kiss her neck "Naruto-kun... If you are going to start getting like that we will have to find somewhere more private."

"Is that an invitation?" Naruto asked as he kissed her.

"Maybe..." Hinata smiled as she started moving away, playing hard to get.

"I will take that as a yes." Naruto laughed as he moved after her, earning a giggle from Hinata who started to play the game of cat and mouse.

The next day Naruto woke up with Hinata in the hotel room that Naruto had gotten earlier that night, the pair a tangle of limbs. Rising Naruto kissed Hinata as he changed back into his Yugure clothes.

"Going?" Hinata asked from the bed.

"Yeah. I do have work to do. But I will see you again as soon as I can." Naruto promised as he kissed her goodbye before leaving in a orange flash, reappearing in the Yugure hotel room where Roshi was finishing his morning coffee while Bee was eating breakfast.

"Hungry?" Roshi asked "I know that after sex people can be very hungry."

"WHAT?" Naruto exclaimed turning a Hinata shade of red as Bee laughed.

"You mean you didn't?" Roshi asked shocked "I figured that the two of you would have gone at it by now."

"NO!" Naruto exclaimed "We are waiting until we can see each other more often first!"

"Oh, well then you might be waiting for some time." Roshi laughed.

"He's right." Bee chuckled as he returned to his breakfast while Naruto grumbled about the pair of them being more trouble then they were worth. Once they were all ready they walked to the Kazikage tower where Gaara was waiting for them, with the contract already complete.

"As promised here it is." Gaara nodded.

"Thanks. So how did things go with Tsunade?" Kitsune asked as he started skimming over the papers, making sure that there were no hidden surprises.

"As well as expected. She is upset but understands our reasoning. She expects us to at least accept refugees from when you attack."

"That's fine by my, but there won't be any until Konaha is gone." Kitsune replied as he signed the papers "And now it is official. Keep that seal with you."

"Of course." the jinchuruki nodded as the three left the room walking out of the tower to see Kakashi waiting for them.

"Yes?" Kitsune asked looking at him.

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"We're listening."

"Is Naruto doing well?"

Smiling under his mask Kitsune nodded "He is fine. He has grown much stronger then you would care to believe, and when you do see him again your village will realize their folly at banishing him."

"I see. Tell him that I hope he is well, and that all of his friends miss him." Kakashi said as he walked away.

"That I will. And if you ever need help Kakashi no Sharingan, come to Yugure, you will not be turned away." Kitsune promised as he nodded to Saru and O Ushi. With that they warped back to Kaminari no Kuni, with another victory for the master plan.


	4. Declaration of War

_AN* Ok, thank you to all of you that have reviewed so far, I do appreciate them, and as usual the replys._

_Rose Tiger: She didn't just yet, I still need her in Konaha at the moment, so she will have to stay there for the time being._

_Cobra0000: True as that is, I am not just going to destroy them right away. That just takes away all of the fun in writing this. One thing is that if it is for the greater good, Naruto will swallow his pride and work with people he hates. Just a little foreshadowing for those of you that read these. And as for the Sakura detail, I felt that making her a half assed character would make for better bashing later in the fic._

_Wyrtha: Well it may just become that if the poll stays the way it is at the moment. And as for the Akatsuki, Deidara won't be killed just yet._

_Peter Kim: That is for you to find out._

_notgonnasay09: No I will not have all of them joining, just those that have a chance at redemption, I mean as the manga/anime has shown they are not all entirely bad. I intend to save those with a chance at being saved, but not all of them will be._

_Angels will bleed from pain: The nicknames will become clear as time goes on, though some should be very obvious. Don't worry too much about Sasuke, he will get what is coming to him. And on a side note, is your keyboard all right, since that review was rather hard to read, I don't mean this as an insult at all but it was rather jumbled up._

_bigking: It all comes down to the poll, with the half way results being told to all of you at the end of the replying to reviews._

_OK! Now the next matter is the poll. At the moment, holding the lead with seven votes is a small harem, followed by a large one at six and no harem at four. So if you haven't voted yet, please just go to my profile and place your votes._

_Declaration of War_

Naruto stood amongst his councilors, looking at a map while discussing plans.

"What is the status of the hunt for the Sanbi?" Naruto asked, looking at Gaara.

"Going well. We have almost located it, but there is a problem."

"There always is." Naruto chuckled.

"He doesn't have a container." Gaara said as they all looked at each other with worry "Without someone sealing it into someone else it will do us no good to capture it."

"Well that is a problem." Naruto mused "Is there anyone that could become the jinchuruki?"

"We have a few candidates but I would not use it personally."

"We don't have the time to be picky unfortunately." Naruto sighed "Who stands the best chance of surviving and being able to use the beasts power?"

"From our information it would be Yuki..." Gaara said as everyone looked at Naruto. Naruto himself was fighting internally over this choice, especially since he was so close to her.

_*Flashback*_

_It had been over two years since Naruto had been banished and his teacher had thought it would be a good idea for him to wander the lands, learning what he could on his own and honing his already impressive abilities. Naruto was walking on the Great Naruto Bridge, walking to Nami no Kuni, hoping to visit Tazuna and his family for a day or two before he started wandering again. As he stepped off of the massive stone construct Naruto sensed chakra flaring and started moving towards it. Stopping Naruto found a young girl, no older then five sitting in an alley, with three drunks standing over her._

"_Now you're going to get what you deserve you freak." one laughed as he swung a knife at her but wasn't even close. The little girl for her part tried to keep a brave face, but the massive swirling blue chakra proved that she was either very angry or very frightened for her life._

"_I would stop if I were you." Naruto said from behind them. Turning they looked at the blonde, however being too drunk to think sensibly one threw a bottle at him, that he caught and shattered in his own hands. Suddenly he was standing in front of the girl, Geiru drawn and the three men dead, falling down, cut down at the waist._

"_Are you ok?" Naruto asked as he looked at her. She looked up at him with muddy brown eyes that showed all of the hurt that she had. She wore rags that barely covered her emancipated frame and her black hair was knotted and she smelled like she hadn't bathed in a very long time._

"_Are... Are you going to hurt me..." she asked as he sheathed his sword._

"_No. Why don't you come with me. I can get you a meal, some decent clothes and a bath. Definitely the bath and meal though." Naruto chuckled as he picked her up, piggy back style and carried her to Tazuna's house. Once there Naruto was welcomed and Tsunami had taken the young girl to get a bath before anything else._

"_Tazuna-san, do you know anything about that girl?" Naruto asked as he sat at the table with the older man._

"_No." he sighed, shaking his head "She came in with a group of three men, looking exactly like that. We planned on confronting them this evening about her but it seems you beat us to that."_

"_I don't know who they were but they are dead now, after threatening her." Naruto replied a cold look in his eyes._

"_Yeah. So what are you going to do? We know that you can't take her to Konahagakure no Sato, and that you are a wanderer."_

"_She can stay here if that is what you are trying to tell me to do. But I feel that is a waste of talent. She has a lot of chakra, easily as much as I did the first time I came here. With the right training she could become a great shinobi." Naruto remarked._

"_So you will take her with you?"_

"_I don't know. If she wants to come with me then I won't stop her. I'm not much of a teacher but I will do what I can for her, at least until I meet with my sensei again." Naruto nodded. Turning at the sound of footsteps Naruto saw the little girl coming walking into the kitchen, still damp from her bath, her eyes wary but taking everything in._

"_Hi there." Tazuna smiled as she cringed._

"_It's ok. Tazuna-san wouldn't hurt you." Naruto said as he knelt next to her, instantly getting hugged by the young girl who refused to let go. Sighing in mock defeat Naruto picked her up and returned to his seat at the table as Tsunami walked in and smiled at the sight._

"_You look like a father, Naruto-kun." Tsunami giggled as Tazuna sighed._

"_I guess I do. And this answers our question. She will be coming with me." Naruto grinned as the girl nodded her head, while tightening her grip "But I need a name for you."_

"_Yuki..." she said._

"_Yuki, that's a pretty name." Naruto grinned as he hugged "Alright, your name is Yuki Uzumaki Namikaze." Yuki pulled away enough to smile at him before turning so she was sitting in his lap as Tsunami brought some food for her. Yuki ate with such vigor that Naruto had to slow her down enough so that she would be able to breathe. After eating herself to sleep Naruto took her up to a bed for her to sleep in, while asking Inari to keep an eye on her while he went to go pay his respects. Walking into the forest glade Naruto stopped in front of Zabuza's and Haku's graves, a small smile on his face._

"_I almost wish you were alive. You always seemed so certain in your decisions, both of you. I wish I had that now, even half of it would help. I don't know what to do. How am I supposed to create an organization that will bring about world peace?" Naruto asked looking at the graves "I'm sure that you would have some ideas. Maybe even some way to help me get people to join me." Stopping he turned to see Yuki standing behind a tree looking at him "It's ok. I just came to pay my respects to some people I knew." Yuki then walked over, looking at the two graves before looking up at him._

"_Who?"_

"_There names were Zabuza and Haku Momochi. They were family to each other and honorable nin. They died in combat and died defending what they believed in." Naruto said "If I can be even half as great as they were I would be well off."_

"_Oh..." Yuki smiled as she looked up at him again._

"_You know Yuki, back at the alley when I saved you. Do you know what that blue stuff was that was around you?"_

"_No... The men were frightened by it, and always hurt me when I did it."_

"_Well that is going to change. That is called chakra, and it is what shinobi use to fight and be what they are. You have a lot of it, and I want to teach you to be a shinobi like me." Naruto smiled._

"_Really?" Yuki asked "Can we play as well?"_

"_We will play every day if you want." Naruto promised as he gave her hug "So would you like me to teach you what I can, at least until we can meet with my sensei again?"_

"_Yeah. As long as we get to play." Yuki smiled as she returned the hug, with Naruto picking her up._

"_Great. Now it is time for a certain young shinobi to get to bed." Naruto laughed as he carried her back to the house._

For the following years Yuki had always been his companion and had helped him keep his determination to create Yugure. Now she was the best candidate to become a jinchuruki. Shaking his head he looked at the gathered members.

"Try to find another." was all he said "I don't want to thrust that fate onto Yuki."

Nodding the members walked out of the room with Naruto sitting down on a chair in the room trying to think on what to do next. The countries were becoming split. Now that two of the five great nations followed him Iwa was dead set against joining with them. Tetsu no Kuni had agreed to a non-aggression treaty, between them along with the detail that they would not trade with Hi no Kuni anymore. Kawa no Kuni had agreed to fight alongside Konahagakure against Yugure, banning them from their borders and giving another safe haven for Akatsuki. Cha no Kuni was still trying to argue with them and so Naruto knew that he was going to have to go there and either convince them to agree with them or he would have to write them off as another enemy and deal with them. Umi no Kuni had at least finally agreed to join them, and their diplomat Isarabi had returned, to continue her shinobi training and to help them work on their underwater training, in case things turned ugly with Mizu no Kuni. Mizu no Kuni was still undecided, seeing as how they were still in the recovery stage with the kekkei genkai purge. Ame no Kuni was refusing to let his diplomats in so that was looking like peace wasn't going to be the answer, at least not yet. Lastly Yu no Kuni was trying to work out a different deal with his diplomats and Naruto was going to have to go and deal with that himself. Sighing Naruto checked the pile of papers and noted that he was supposed to go and see the council of Konahagakure today. Sighing Naruto grabbed his mask before warping to the road a few miles outside of Konahagakure. Walking slowly Kitsune prepared himself for the Pandora's Box he was about to open. Once at the gates Naruto was stopped by two chunin who glared at him.

"Passport please." a man ordered as Kitsune shook his head.

"My name is Kitsune. The council of Konahagakure no Sato is expecting me." Kitsune replied as the two looked at each other before checking their sheet and seeing that he was expected.

"Sorry for the delay. Just go straight to the tower." one of them nodded to Kitsune who nodded back and walked along the path, knowing that he was being followed by both ANBU and ROOT agents. Heading straight for the tower he stopped and looked up at the massive building before shaking his head. Walking in he was given directions to the meeting room where he walked in to find that the councilors were already waiting.

"Right on time." Tsunade nodded as she motioned to the seat at the end of the table "Now Kitsune-san. If you would please explain to us why you are here."

"Of course Hokage-sama. I am here to declare war upon Konahagakure no Sato and all of it's allies." Kitsune replied as the councilors stared dumbly for several seconds before they reacted.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Homura raged as many other councilors did the same with the Isako Haruno shouting the loudest. Kitsune waited for several minutes before he finally spoke, speaking loud enough for them to hear and then lowering his voice slowly so that they were quiet and he was speaking normally.

"Due to many of your actions, we, the members of Yugure have agreed that Konahagakure no Sato must be eliminated, so as to ensure world peace and to meet the one dream of one of our members. However I am told by this person that there will be one way for you to reverse this situation." Kitsune replied as Danzo noted that something wasn't right.

"And what is this. Surely we can reach some sort of agreement." Komura grinned.

"If, and only if, you reverse the banishment on one Naruto Uzumaki, will we of Yugure agree not to eliminate you and all that live here." Kitsune replied as many jaws dropped at this request while Tsunade sighed.

"That is preposterous!" a civilian shouted " Why should we take back that demon so that you won't fight us?"

Kitsune looked at the man and released enough KI to force the man to pass out. Once done he looked around the room seeing many people smile while others looked angry.

"This is unheard of. Why would you make such a demand?" Hiashi Hyuga asked.

"Because the boy was banished for unjust reasons, reasons that you back Hyuga-san. Therefore this is the only way for you to avoid being destroyed. Reverse the order and all will be forgiven and we will talk of alliance. Refuse and you will see our blades become red on the flesh of you ignorant fools." Kitsune said "If there is nothing else I will be going now. I will send a messenger tomorrow to collect your answer. And if anything should happen to this messenger we will attack Konaha so quickly that you will not have the time to pray to Kami for forgiveness." Walking out of the room the councilors looked at each other worried.

"What are we going to do?" Homura panicked "We cannot reverse this order."

"And why not? Taking back one banished shinobi in order to avert a war is not much to ask." Tsunade argued as Danzo nodded.

"As much as I hate to say this. Hokage-sama has a point. We need to take actions that will aid Konaha, not weaken it. I admit that while banishing the boy was a right choice at the time now it is not. We need to consider taking him back." Danzo replied "I for one will not see Konahagakure lost to the ages simply because we were too stubborn to back down."

"We will not allow him back! Konahagakure is one of the greatest of the shinobi nations! We can easily deal with a mercenary group that has some small ties to Kaminari no Kuni and other countries." Komura replied.

"We need to consider bringing him back." Shikaku replied with a yawn "That kid had more connections to the outside world then any other person here. He managed to make us lose ties with four different nations, just for banishing him on such weak charges. Imagine what he could do if he managed to bring in all of the powers of the nations that support Yugure. Konahagakure would be buried alive against that massive army."

The council room then fell into a massive argument that lasted for several hours before the meeting was adjourned with them agreeing to meet early tomorrow so that they could make some final decision on the matter before the representative arrived. Leaving the room Hinata appeared scanning the area to make sure that there was nothing left that could cause any difficulties later. Stopping she saw a note sitting on the chair that Kitsune had been sitting in. Picking it up she saw that it was addressed to her, and slowly she opened it to see a simple message waiting for her. All it said was _"Tomorrow he shall return."_ Frowning Hinata tried to decide what it could mean. There were plenty of people that it could refer to, but she hoped that it was Naruto. The next day the council was meeting again, still arguing over the matter when Tsunade saw that the representative would be arriving shortly. Before she could say a word a bright flash of orange appeared and Naruto stood in the council room, a dark grin on his face.

"Well I am here to collect your answer." Naruto replied as the councilors stared.

"IT'S NARUTO! CAPTURE HIM!" Homura and Komura shouted as several ANBU agents appeared, but they stopped when red chakra started to swirl around him.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Naruto said "I am a diplomat from Yugure, and if you attack me then you will all be killed and no nation will support you for attacking one who is promised not to attack unless attacked first."

"Stand down." Tsunade ordered. At first no one moved until an ANBU in a fox mask appeared, a blade out and aimed at one of their throats.

"You will follow Hokage-sama's orders or you will be dealt with accordingly." she said as Naruto grinned. With that several more ANBU appeared, forcing those that answered to the council to stand down and return to their posts.

"Now that this bit of unpleasantness is settled, what is your answer?" Naruto asked as he looked at them, many meeting his gaze, some defiant while others smiled at the gaze, others looked away, not wanting to face the cold look that the blond was giving to many of them. It was a few moments before Tsunade spoke.

"Naruto. We haven't reached a decision yet."

"Is that so? Still arguing about whether you want me back?" he chuckled as he looked at Tsunade, sending a shiver down her spine with the dark look he fixed her with.

"Yes. If you would like to go out and eat while we finish our discussion..." Tsunade suggested.

"Fine. But only if the fox masked ANBU comes with me." Naruto replied as Tsunade nodded as the ANBU appeared, walking to stand next to Naruto. Walking out of the room Naruto whispered "You look good my vixen."

Hinata for her part blushed underneath the mask as they walked, heading to the one place that he always loved to eat at while he had been in Konaha, Ichiraku Ramen. Walking up to the bar Naruto took a seat while Hinata removed her mask. Once they were settled Naruto tapped the bell that was to get their attention.

"Be right there!" a woman's voice shouted. Grinning Naruto started rubbing his hands in anticipation while Hinata shook her head at his child like antics.

"Welcome to... NAURTO!" Ayame shouted as she leapt over the counter, hugging him tightly as Teuchi ran out grinning.

"Ouch..." Naruto gurgled as he was crushed in the arms of the older woman while Hinata smiled at the welcome.

"Ayame-chan. You might want to let him go, otherwise I'm going to have to revive him." Hinata sighed as Ayame blushed before letting the blonde go. Once on the other side of the counter, and Naruto had retaken his seat, Teuchi asked them what they wanted.

"The usual for me and keep it coming." Naruto grinned.

"A Miso ramen for me please." Hinata smiled as the ramen chef and his daughter went back to start the meal.

"So Hinata, how much of a commotion did Kitsune cause when he declared war?" Naruto asked.

"The council has been arguing about letting you come home since the announcement. It is evenly split at the moment."

"I see. If they do take me back then things are going to turn out better, but some of them are still not going to like what an alliance with us is going to cost them." Naruto chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"The civilian council will be disbanded, and the elders will lose almost all of their power."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This is a shinobi village, so it should act as such." Naruto nodded as Teuchi and Ayame walked back with the ramen, which Naruto stated eating with gusto.

"Be careful not to lose a hand." Teuchi laughed as the ramen was gone in a matter of seconds.

"So Naruto, how have you been?" Ayame asked.

"I've been well. I work with Yugure now, so things are different but better." Naruto replied "So how have things been here?"

"Not too well. You were our main source of income so we are barely making the rent as things stand." Teuchi sighed "We might have to close down soon."

"Or you can just move to where I live." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Where is that?" Ayame asked.

"Kumogakure." he replied "It's Yugure's main headquarters right now. And you would be doing massive business there."

The pair looked at each other, both trying to decide what to do while Naruto and Hinata continued to eat until a pile of twenty bowls was sitting in front of Naruto and Hinata had her one.

"Thanks for the meal." Naruto grinned as he left a pile of Ryo on the bar to pay for the massive meal.

"Of course Naruto. Hope you stop by again before you leave." Teuchi shouted.

"I'll try." Naruto grinned as he and Hinata walked off, heading back to the Hokage Tower. Once inside Naruto quickly noticed that there was a lack of noise coming from the council chamber and Hinata started to look nervous.

"Better get your mask back on Hinata-chan." Naruto said as he opened the door, and Hinata disappeared into the shadows again. Once he had taken his seat Tsunade looked at Naruto and mouthed an apology to him before she stood up.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I unfortunately must say that your banishment will not be removed."

"I thought so." he nodded "Then we are at war then Hokage-sama. Know this, if any Yugure member comes across a Konahagakure no Sato shinobi we will not hesitate to attack and kill them. As of now there is no more negotiations."

"And what is to stop us from capturing you?" Danzo asked as he raised a hand and ten ROOT nin appeared around the blonde, all ready to strike.

"Do you think that wise, attacking a foreign diplomat?" Naruto asked "I seem to recall that I have an hour after I leave the meeting hall to be out of the village, and the next week to be out of the country before you can legally attack me." Tsunade smiled at this while Danzo was mentally cursing the blonde for knowing the law.

"Still there must be something that we can offer you that would stop such an event from occurring." a civilian began.

"Save your breath. I told you the terms, and you choose not to follow them. There is no negotiations, there is no changing the bargains. You have no hope of stopping me from leaving." Naruto replied as he stood up "Now by your leave I will be going now. Until we meet on the battlefield again." Turning Naruto walked out of the door while Danzo gave a hidden sign for him to be followed and killed once the opportunity presented itself.

"Things could not have been much worse." Tsunade sighed as many of the shinobi council nodded.

"Things are still bad." Danzo remarked "We are now at war with an organization that we know next to nothing about. There must be something that we can use to stop this, or at least delay this until we are better prepared for battle."

"There is none." Inoichi replied "I was checking his mental patterns while we talked, he never lied to us and I think that he is the one that wants Konahagakure destroyed."

"WHAT?" Tsunade exclaimed.

"It's not too much of a stretch. He was banished for doing his job, for doing what he was supposed to do, and he probably has plenty of resentment towards us. He has every right to want to destroy Konahagakure, and he now has the means of doing it. He has been effectively cutting off our allies one by one. At the moment our only ally is Kawa no Kuni and they aren't going to be much help. They have cut us off from so many of our former allies that things are starting to look grim." Shikaku replied as many of the shinobi councilors nodded.

"This isn't important right now. What we need to do is figure out how we are going to prepare for the battle that is sure to be coming." Danzo replied as they all nodded, beginning to discuss ideas and strategies.

Outside of Konaha, Naruto stopped, looking over his shoulder at this place that had been his home, taking a mental picture of it before he walked further down and his agents appeared.

"Report." Naruto ordered.

"We have gathered all of the intel that you requested. Our members that are undercover there will be sending regular reports to you about the changes that are being made."

"Good. Stay in the area, and try to spy on the council as much as you can without being caught. I want to know any possible plans that you can get, and kill those fools that are following me." Naruto grinned as walked, listening to kunai striking flesh, killing the ROOT nin that were tailing him. Once he was certain that things were in hand Naruto Hiraishined back to Kumogakure, walking out of his room to see what news they had on other pressing matters.

In Oto, Orochimaru was reading reports on how this new group Yugure was causing such chaos.

"Strange. They have yet to approach us yet." he noted as his right hand Kabuto walked in.

"They may not intend to ally with us. Or they may mean to leave us alone." Kabuto remarked "However I do have some news on this group."

"Really?"

"Yes. They apparently have declared war on Konahagakure no Sato." he grinned as Orochimaru followed suit.

"Perhaps we can ally with them yet. Do you know where they are located?"

"They should be in Kumogakure, but getting in is a problem." Kabuto replied "As you know they have increased security along the border of Kaminari no Kuni, and they are very cautious."

"I see. Well send them a letter, tell them that we wish to ally with them." Orochimaru grinned "And who knows they may have some interesting candidates for new bodies." Chuckling the former sannin began planning what he would do once Yugure accepted.

In one of their many hideouts Akatsuki was having a meeting concerning their recent disaster concerning the Ichibi.

"We have lost one of our members now." Pain noted as the other members looked around at each other.

"And he may be alive." Deidara noted "I didn't find the heart when I went back. He may have been captured."

"Unlikely..." Pain replied "Itachi, Kisame. You both have confronted Yugure before. Tell me, would they just take Sasori?"

"I don't know..." Itachi began "It is hard to say what they will and won't do."

"Yeah. They are rather difficult to predict." Kisame nodded.

"I see. Well be cautious with future dealing with them. We cannot afford to lose too many more members, especially if we hope to combat the nations once we start capturing the jinchuruki. There are only two left that can be captured, which is why I want you Deidara and your new partner Tobi to go after the Sanbi." Pain ordered as a new shadow appeared.

"Hello everyone. Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi exclaimed as he waved at them, with most of the older members sweat dropping at this.

"Why me..." Deidara sighed.

"Also, I want you all to start focusing on Yugure, find out all that you can on their numbers, abilities, and locations. I intend to see these imposters destroyed. No one will come between us and world peace." Pain said as the meeting ended with him returning to his Deva body in Ame.

"Konan."

"Yes?" the blue haired woman asked.

"You said that there were representatives from Yugure on our borders?"

"I did. I haven't let them in however."

"Good. We will see if we can capture them and find out what they know about this organization." he said as he turned and started walking into the tower, the other five bodies appearing.

"Of course." Konan nodded as she followed behind her old friends body.

_AN* Ok, while this chapter was more for setting the stage for future events I still felt that I could have done a slightly better job on this. So please leave your reviews so I know how you feel about this chapter._


	5. Sanbi

_And I am back. I apologize for being gone for so long, but life can be rather unpredictable at times. But you will all be pleased to know that I have not been sitting idly, I have been working on this story and several others that I intend to either update or create sometime within the next few weeks. Now first things first, the poll. The winner is for a small harem, meaning there will be two or three, perhaps four if I am feeling so inclined, girls with Naruto. Next up, as always is our reviews._

_Thalian: Thank you for the praise, and I hope that I can keep you interested._

_Wyrtha: It will happen eventually. I haven't really found a good point yet to have them meet. As for Orochimaru, for now I am having him sit on the back burner while I make more plans. He will have his part to play, but not just yet._

_Rose Tiger: Thanks for that. I make that mistake every now and then._

_Jasper: That is your opinion. You are entitled to it, and I will not be mad if you choose not to read my story, to each his own._

_Peter Kim: Partially. Naruto has his plans for the Akatsuki, keep in mind, he knows a lot more then he lets on._

_Kyuubecky: Probably because this one seems to get overlooked quite often._

_Suave Jiraya: Had to have Naruto make the offer. Besides there was more to that then the surface showed. I will reveal it in later chapters. And as for the Sasu and Saku bashing, ask and you shall receive._

_axeloftheflame: The war is coming, just not right away. I like to build up to the big event, especially since Naruto is still making his opening moves in this massive chess game. And as for character death, well you will have to wait and see, along with what will become of the ramen stand._

_a pen name no one has: Well you got to think that most of these people are used to throwing their weight around and getting what they want. Danzo is cunning but not truly evil. He is more misguided in my eyes, but he is still on the shit list none the less._

_Hadez-Girl: I appreciate the support. I have not given up on any of my stories yet, I just set them aside until whatever is stopping me from writing moves on. I never give up on my writing until I feel it is complete or until I die, and the latter is more likely to happen first._

_Angels will bleed from pain: That's ok. Just was curious about that._

_*Phew* That was one of the longest review lists that I have done. Either means I was gone for too long or that a lot of people like this story. Now without any further ado, here is the latest chapter of Yugure!_

_Sanbi_

Days had passed since the meeting in Konahagakure and Naruto was once again in a meeting about the Sanbi.

"Naruto, there is no other way." Gaara sighed "Yuki is the best option."

"I don't care! She has a hard enough life as it is, I refuse to use her like this!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto, as a leader you need to do what is necessary for everyone. We cannot let the Akatsuki get a hold of the Sanbi, nor can we allow Konahagakure to go after it. You know that they will soon enough, and if they don't, Orochimaru will." Gaara growled.

"Dammit!" Naruto shouted as he punched the wall, destroying it "I don't want her to walk down the path we had to!"

"Naruto there is no longer a choice." Gaara retorted "If we want to keep the jinchuruki safe we will need to create another one."

Naruto stared at Gaara for a few moments before sighing in defeat.

"Fine. But first we go after the beast."

"Of course. You will lead this mission?"

"Yeah. Tell Fu that she can come with me." Naruto replied as he looked at Gaara "And tell Han that he will be needed as well."

"Of course." Gaara nodded as he walked off. An hour later Naruto was looking at his two comrades and nodded.

"Alright. We are going after the Sanbi. We need to capture it and bring it back here, so that is why I am bringing both of you with." Naruto replied as he warped them to the hideout in Mizu no Kuni. Grinning Fu led the way out of the base and they began the search for the Biju.

In Konaha, Danzo had managed to convince Tsunade that the best hope would be to get another jinchuruki within the village, and since the Sanbi currently had no container that it should be captured and brought there so they could seal it and have another powerful shinobi among there ranks. Tsunade had decided to send shinobi that she could afford to be without for a time, meaning what remained of team 7. As the three shinobi made their way towards the shore Kakashi was briefing them of what to expect.

"The Sanbi can produce a mist that will cause hallucinations and has the ability to fire twin Bijudama(Tailed Beast Ball). Along with this it has a high water affinity and can create tidal waves in all directions to wash away attackers while it's roar can deflect any attacks. It's skin and shell are incredibly tough and are near impossible to pierce." Kakashi read off as they moved.

"So don't underestimate him." Sakura summed up.

"That's about it. That and we need to be very careful. I doubt that we are the only ones hunting the Sanbi." Kakashi replied.

"It is there funeral if they do attack us." Sasuke snorted. With that they made their way north and east heading towards Mizu no Kuni. For more then a week the two groups searched when Kitsune suddenly stopped, sensing the Sanbi, but not near them.

"CRAP!" he shouted.

"What is it?" Kabutomushi asked confused.

"Can't you feel it? The Sanbi is being summoned, and no where near us!" he exclaimed as he grabbed both of them and warped as close to the area as he could. Once on the ground the three took off at a run, heading towards the three tailed beast. Skidding to a stop Kitsune noted that it was a group of Oto nin that were summoning the beast, with a young boy having some affinity to it.

"Masks off." Naruto ordered as the two nodded "We go in there, take down that beast and from there take it back to Kaminari no Kuni."

"You make it sound so easy." Fu laughed.

"I hope it is that easy." Han noted as they moved in to attack. Leaping into the air Naruto struck first, starting several hand signs.

"Futon: Tsuisutāshotto(Twister Shot)!" Naruto shouted as he released a gust of wind from his mouth that created a massive twister, sending several of the Oto nin flying. Landing Naruto noted that Kabuto was among the nin and he looked very angry.

"Well if it isn't Naruto-kun." he noted "You certainly have grown up."

"Who's the brat?" a woman asked as she checked on the person who was trying to summon the Sanbi.

"He was a former Konahagakure no Sato shinobi before he was banished. He has been keeping a rather low profile since then." Kabuto grinned.

"Geez this guy talks a lot. Can I kill him?" Fu asked.

"If you can I suggest you do it." Naruto replied "He's a medical ninjutsuist so he has a strong advantage against taijutsuists."

"Then I will fight him." Han replied "I have the clear advantage."

"Fine. Just don't get yourself killed." Naruto replied as he looked at the woman "Now she is going to be a tough one."

"How can you tell?" Fu asked.

"She seems to be of equal rank to Kabuto so she must be strong." Naruto replied "But how strong is the question."

"You'll just have to find out." the woman laughed as suddenly the Sanbi broke free.

"SHIT!" Naruto exclaimed as he and the other two jinchuruki leapt back, avoiding the tidal wave that the beast unleashed. Standing on top of some trees a distance back Naruto checked the surrounding area.

"The beast comes first. We can't let it get away." Naruto sighed.

"Got it." the two nodded as they leapt atop of the water and charged at the beast, Naruto drawing on his wind affinity again.

"Futon: Tsuisutāshotto!" Naruto shouted as he sent another twister at the Biju, that as soon as the wind storm hit the water brought it up, smashing into the beast and sending it skidding several yards back. Fu and Han, running along the water struck next.

"Joton: Netsu-ha o mekura ken(Steam Release: Blinding Heat Wave)!" Han shouted as he used the water to create a massive steam cloud that blinded the beast while Fu struck next.

"Doton: Doryūsō(Rising Stone Spears)!" Fu exclaimed as she used the mud that had been created from the water to rise up and smash into the Sanbi's belly. And while it didn't pierce the shell it did lift if off the ground as Naruto struck again.

"Futon: Kaze no Yaiba(Blade of Wind)!" Naruto shouted as he emitted wind chakra from his fingertips and let it slash into the hard shell, managing to pierce the shell, causing the beast to roar in pain as it used one of it's tails to try and attack Naruto, who had used the wind sword to deflect the tail and managed to cut it a bit as he went flying back.

"This is not going to be easy." Naruto groaned. Suddenly a mist appeared around the area and Naruto knew that they were under attack. Leaping into the air Naruto saw a pink blade flash by where he had been.

"Not bad boy." a woman laughed "We watched you wound the beast. That is not some small feat. But we cannot allow you to take this Biju."

"Well I am not letting Orochimaru get his hands on it either." Naruto retorted as the mist started to dissipate, revealing that Han was fighting against Kabuto while Fu was fighting the remaining three Oto nin.

"You think you can stop us?"

"I know I can. But let me ask you a few things while we dance." Naruto grinned as he drew Geiru, facing off against her pink crystal blade.

"Go ahead. I enjoy talking to my opponents as I kill them." she laughed. With that the two clashed, the crystal sword ringing every time Naruto struck it with Geiru.

"So what is your name anyway? I have never seen you among Orochimaru's forces."

"My name is Guren. And I serve Orochimaru because he rescued me."

"He is using you. As soon as that usefulness has ended he will get rid of you." Naruto replied.

"And if he does?"

"Then who will protect that boy?" Naruto asked as she flinched "I saw how you were eying him, how you were making sure that he wasn't going to get hurt when the Sanbi showed up. You care for him."

"So what?" She snapped as they leapt away, avoiding one of the tails of the Sanbi that was attacking randomly, destroying the area.

"Who will protect him if Orochimaru kills you?" Naruto asked.

"He wouldn't!" she shouted.

"Really? He has thrown away people that had no further use to him before, what is to stop him from doing it again?" Naruto countered as they clashed again. Trading blows for several seconds they leapt back again.

"And what do you propose I do about it?" she asked "I can't exactly disappear."

"You can. And I can help you do it. I can have you two kept safe easily while still being shinobi. I can promise you that he will be safe." Naruto replied as he spared a glance at the Sanbi that was still rampaging around the area but was slowly stopping.

"I don't know..." she muttered.

"Would you like him to decide?" Naruto asked with a grin as he looked over to see that Fu had just finished killing the three Oto nin and Han had managed to force Kabuto to retreat.

"Yes." she nodded as Naruto nodded before focusing on the Sanbi.

"That kid he can control the Sanbi can't he?"

"Yes, Yukimaru can." Guren nodded.

"I see. I have an offer for him once I am done stomping that turtle. Han!"

"Yes?" the red armored ninja asked.

"Go with Guren and find the boy Yukimaru. Bring them back here. Fu, you and me will distract the Biju long enough for them to get back." Naruto ordered as the two nodded. Once Guren and Han had left Naruto nodded to Fu "We go tail."

"How many?"

"How many can you control?"

"I've got three at the moment."

"Then three is all you can do. I intend to go all out." Naruto replied as he changed, drawing on pure yang chakra of the Kyubi, gaining a glowing yellow flickering aura while having the new seal visible along with marks that were similar to the Rikudo Sennin. Grinning Naruto took off in a flash, appearing above the Sanbi, and smashing into it's back, earning a roar from the beast as Fu struck, using her naturally increased power to punch one of the Sanbi's legs causing it to fall to the ground while Naruto kicked it's head, sending it flying.

"I forgot how strong this form is." Naruto laughed as he charged forward again. For a straight minute Naruto pounded the Sanbi, while Fu tried to keep up, and was doing fairly well at hurting the massive beast. As Naruto stopped he moved back just as a fireball hit where he had been standing. Turning Naruto looked at Sasuke and Sakura who were both staring at him.

"Well well well. Didn't think I'd see you this early teme." Naruto chuckled "And I have permission to kill any Konahagakure shinobi I come across."

"You wouldn't be able to even lay a finger on us!" Sakura shouted as Naruto chuckled.

"Hey Fu!" Naruto shouted.

"Yeah?"

"Think you can hold off the beast while I show my former teammates how strong I really am?"

"Yeah. Besides I think Han is almost back with those two." Fu replied.

"Good. I will be back in a few minutes." Naruto nodded as he focused on his two teammates with a grin "Now let's get this show on the road, and don't hold back or you won't live very long." With that Naruto disappeared and appeared right in front of the two, kicking Sakura into a cluster of trees several yards away, destroying every tree between there and the starting point while he focused on Sasuke, punching him in the stomach while following through, focusing on only using his taijutsu, knocking him around the trees like he was nothing.

"_How is the dope so strong! My sharingan can't even keep up with his movements."_

After more then a minute of pounding Sasuke Naruto stopped and looked at Fu who was now running from the Sanbi as it was firing Bijudama at her.

"Sorry Teme, but I am out of time to play. My friend needs some help with our turtle problem." Naruto grinned as he disappeared in the same golden flash and appeared over the turtle, creating a rasengan, that quickly became a Bijudama, firing it into the beast's back, earning a howl of pain. Landing on on a tree nearby Naruto saw that Han had returned with Guren and Yukimaru. Leaping down to where they were Naruto stopped using the yang chakra and returned to normal.

"Hey, took you long enough." Naruto remarked.

"Sorry. We ran into difficulties on the way back." Han said "A shinobi that worked for them thought to attack us."

"Ok, you Yukimaru?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah..." the young boy nodded.

"Well I want to ask you something. You really like Guren right?"

"Yeah." Yukimaru nodded.

"Well she worries about you. And I noticed that you could command the turtle over there. So how would you like to make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"You help us stop that thing from rampaging and I promise to get you two into Kaminari no Kuni, and put in a good word with the Raikage if you want to train to be shinobi." Naruto smiled.

"Why do I sense that there is more to this?" Guren asked.

"There is." Naruto nodded "This part is entirely optional, off to the side. But if you would be willing to have scaly over there sealed inside of you, to become a jinchuruki like me and my two partners over here, I would take both you and Guren into Yugure where you will be protected and trained by the very best. And I promise that we will do all that we can to make your dreams come true."

"My dreams come true?"

"Yeah. I made Yugure for that main reason. So will you at least help us with the first offer. The second one you can make at any time." the blonde smiled.

"Ok, as long as Guren gets to come with." Yukimaru nodded.

"You two are a package deal. Any offer I make you extends to her, and vice versa." Naruto nodded as he looked at Han "Time to get back to work. I'm low on chakra so I have to leave things to you and Fu."

"That's fine. I will make sure that the Sanbi is ready for transportation soon." Han nodded as he wrapped himself in his tailed beast cloak, becoming the Irukauma and smashing into the Sanbi. Once managing to pin the turtle Han aimed a Bijudama at point blank range, firing the blast without a moments hesitation, knocking the Sanbi unconscious while forcing Han to revert back to normal.

"HAN!" Naruto shouted as he ran over to the older man.

"Hey. It worked." he laughed as Naruto shook his head at the man. Turning Naruto noted that Guren and Yukimaru had followed, and were staring at them in shock.

"That was incredible. Would I be able to do that if the Sanbi was sealed in me?" Yukimaru asked.

"With the proper training yeah." Naruto nodded as he stood up, looking behind them to see Sasuke limping over, rage in his eyes "However I have a bug to squish at the moment, so please give me a moment." Walking in front of Sasuke Naruto glared at the man.

"Ironic isn't it?" Naruto asked.

"What is dope?"

"This is the second time that we have clashed and this is the second time that I have crushed you." Naruto grinned "And I wasn't even at full power. So much for the mighty Uchiha clan."

"I'll kill you!" Sasuke shouted as he tried to draw his blade but Kakashi appeared, stopping him.

"Sasuke, don't." Kakashi said as he looked at the Uchiha who frowned at his former teacher before stepping back.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto grinned.

"Naruto. It's good to see you again." Kakashi smiled as he shook his hand "You are looking very well. I didn't get to see your battle but I can tell that you have grown."

"Thanks." Naruto grinned "Sorry I missed you while I was at Konahagakure."

"It's fine. I was busy." Kakashi laughed "So you helped take down the Sanbi. I guess we should back down."

"Yeah. If you tried to take away the demon after all that we went through to get it, I would beat you up and kill both of them." Naruto chuckled as Sakura staggered towards them, glaring at Naruto.

"Really now?" Kakashi asked, giving Naruto a look.

"Hey, we are at war at the moment." Naruto grinned "I could technically kill all three of you and suffer no repercussions." Kakashi just shook his head at this while Sasuke snorted.

"You couldn't dope. I'd kill you first."

"Yeah. You only won because you caught us off guard!" Sakura shouted.

"Really now?" Naruto asked "Last I checked we were shinobi, we were supposed to expect the unexpected. So if you couldn't predict that a jinchuruki was going to wipe the floor with you then you are beyond hope."

"A what?" Sakura asked as Kakashi sighed.

"One who carries a demon within them. One who sacrifices their own life at an early age to keep the Biju away from the world. I carry the greatest terror within me and you think that you can threaten me into submission. You are fools." Naruto chuckled as he started walking away "It's a pleasure seeing you again Kakashi-sensei, be sure to give my best to Baa-chan and everyone, and tell Hinata-chan I miss her." With that Naruto strode over to the Sanbi, where Han, Fu, Guren and Yukimaru were already waiting. Grabbing hold of the beast Naruto Hiraishined back to Kumo, leaving the three Konaha nin standing there as high in the sky two clay birds flew over.

"Looks like we were too late Deidara-sempai." Tobi laughed.

"It seems so." Deidara spat "Who'd of thought that all of these people would be after the Sanbi."

"You didn't." Tobi laughed as Deidara ordered the bird to crash and try to kill Tobi, who turned intangible for a few seconds to save himself from the explosion. Back in Kumogakure Naruto was having several nin maintain the powerful barrier they had created around the Sanbi as they tested Yukimaru to see if he could be a jinchuruki. After a few moments Gaara approached.

"Well?" Naruto asked.

"He is a better candidate then Yuki." he nodded.

"Good." Naruto nodded "And he wants to do this?"

"Yes. He said he wants to be able to defend Guren." Gaara replied.

"Excellent. Let's start the sealing process." Naruto grinned as he approached Yukimaru "Ok Yukimaru. I'm going to be the one to seal the Sanbi inside of you. So that way if anything goes wrong I can at least be there to defend you."

"What about Guren?" Yukimaru asked.

"She will be nearby, but not close enough to react. What we are going to be dong is going to be very dangerous and I don't want her getting hurt. That's why I am doing the sealing myself." Naruto smiled "Now let's get started. The sooner the Sanbi is sealed inside of you the better."

Walking towards the barrier a small opening was made as the two entered, Yukimaru naked as Naruto started drawing the seals on his stomach, creating an intricate pattern, one that was every bit as strong as his. Once finished Naruto started channeling chakra into the seal and then creating the link that would draw the Sanbi into the seal. The Sanbi immediately realized what was happening and tried to get away, but the seal was stronger then the last one that imprisoned it and soon the Sanbi was trapped inside Yukimaru, who passed out from the strain.

"Finally done." Naruto panted as the barrier was dropped.

"YUKIMARU!" Guren shouted as she ran over to him.

"He'll be fine. Just let him sleep, and eat himself back to sleep when he wakes up. Tomorrow we will start training him." Naruto smiled as he patted her shoulder before stopping "Oh, that's right." Turning Naruto placed seal next to Yukimaru "Make sure that he keeps that with him at all times. In case the Akatsuki ever come looking for him I can find him quickly."

"Ok." Guren nodded as she picked up Yukimaru and was lead to a room where the two of them could rest. Grinning Naruto looked up at the sky before laughing.

"And this makes eight. Only one left to find."

"SIR!" a voice shouted. Turning Naruto saw a man running over.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Sir, the diplomats that you sent to Ame have been killed." the man panted.

"What?" Naruto growled.

"Yes, I went to go check in on them a few days ago and found them all dead, and saw seven people leaving the scene."

"I see. The Akatsuki decided where they want to stand with us." Naruto growled as a young man walked next to him "What do you make of it Sasori?" The red head had been genetically recreated into a new body using his cells to replicate his body at the young age he had been at when he had turned himself into a puppet.

"It was likely the Leader." he noted "Ame is his home, so he likely attacked himself to make a point. If one was a woman then that would be Konan."

"I see. Any chance that they could be convinced to join us?" Naruto asked.

"They might be. It would come down to how good your luck was." Sasori replied "Leader isn't one to be underestimated, he has the Rinnegan from what I saw in the meetings."

"Does he now. Well I suppose I should rip apart his organization bit by bit then." Naruto grinned as he looked at the revived the puppet user "And I will be needing your help for this."

"Whatever you need just let me know." Sasori nodded.

"Just one thing at the moment. Who are the members left?"

"Well while I was there, there was Itachi and Kisame. They are a strong team and not one to be taken lightly. Then there was the undead team. They consisted of Hidan and Kakuzu, with neither of them really able to die. Hidan practices a religion to the god Jashin, and is unable to die. Kakuzu however seems to be immortal in a different way. He can use almost every element for jutsu and uses black threads to reattach or give someone new body parts. Next would be the only solo team. His name is Zetsu, and he is the spy amongst our ranks. He can travel great distances and while I don't know anything about his abilities I do know that he has a literal split personality and that he eats any of the bodies of members that have died. Lastly is Leader and his partner Konan. The two of them never leave Amegakure unless there is a major battle to fight. No one really knows anything about them except Zetsu and he doesn't tell anyone anything." Sasori explained.

"Ok, and of course Deidara and whoever his new partner is." Naruto nodded "Well we will start taking this organization apart. Itachi and Kisame will join us sooner or later, that I know for certain. The undead team will be killed. As for Zetsu I don't know what to do about him but we will figure something out. Deidara might be convinced to join us but I can't say for certain. And the last two, well I have hope that they can be convinced to join us."

"If you say so." Sasori grinned.

"So how is your new puppets coming along?" Naruto asked as they started walking.

"Very well actually. I am using a new method of making them. You were right about one thing. A human body can surpass anything really. I have created a means of using an actual person as the base without having to kill them. I have been able to recreate the Sandaime Kazikage with a denser armor on the outside, and have altered the iron sand so it is more pliable and easier to manipulate then the last one was. There is no lag time with this and actually can respond to the smallest of motions." Sasori beamed as he explained his newest puppet.

"I see. And your other works?"

"They are progressing. I am looking into the suggestion you made, about puppets that require no strings to move. I have some ideas but without a prototype made first it is very unlikely I will make any progress."

"Well keep at it. I have faith in your abilities." Naruto grinned as he let Sasori go to his workshop. Walking further along Naruto stopped and stared into the distance before calling out.

"I know you're here Jiraya." Naruto said as the white haired sannin appeared.

"Hey gaki." Jiraya grinned.

"You shouldn't be here. You know that Yugure has declared war on Konahagakure." Naruto remarked.

"I know. I was hoping to convince you to abandon that."

"Not likely." Naruto chuckled.

"I know. You're as stubborn as your mother was." Jiraya laughed "You wear her sword well."

"Thanks. So tell me, what brings you here, I know that this isn't a social visit."

"Information. I was hoping to trade information on the Akatsuki for information about your organization here." Jiraya replied.

"For you Jiraya, I will accept this deal, but will only tell you as much as your information is worth." Naruto smiled as he took a seat on a rock nearby.

"Thanks. Well for starters I have managed to find out something that I think might be of interest to you."

"I'm all ears."

"The leader of Akatsuki, it isn't one person, it's six and all of them have the Rinnegan."

"Wait. I thought that only one person could have it."

"That's what I thought. The truth is I think I know who is leading the Akatsuki. His name is Nagato. I met him back during the war with Ame, back when I got my title as a sannin. Anyway he had the Rinnegan, and had the makings of a great shinobi. However something has happened, I heard that they were dead but I recognized two of them when I saw your diplomats get attacked."

"You were there?" Naruto asked with a glare.

"It wasn't my place to interfere. Besides it was a good chance to get some information of two of Konahagakure's enemies." Jiraya replied.

"Fine. So who did you recognize?"

"Actually all of them. I think Nagato has managed to control dead bodies. At the moment he is using six bodies and they were all shinobi that I had encountered at one point or another in my life. However the main one I recognized was the body of one of my former pupil and Nagato's friend Yahiko."

"He's using his friends dead body like that?"

"Yeah..."

"Tell me something, is there any chance that he could revive the dead if the person's body was still intact, no matter how long they were dead?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe. I can't say for certain but is a possibility." Jiraya nodded.

"I see. It's something to look into." Naruto muttered.

"Anyways the other person I recognized was the last of the three I trained, her name is Konan and she uses paper to fight."

"Interesting. This is more information then I had. Alright Jiraya, you've earned yourself five questions." Naruto grinned.

"Alright. How many jinchuruki do you have?"

"Seven that are trained at the moment with an eight one that is going to start training soon. The only one missing is the Rokubi."

"So you did get the Sanbi. Ok, how many nations have allied with you?"

"At the moment we have five nations that will fight with us, and only two that refuse to join us while the rest are still in the process of making up their minds."

"Current level of shinobi?"

"Most are in the chunin rank to the ANBU level. A few of our members have kage level skills and are usually the ones to lead important missions."

"Location of bases?"

"In every country, with the majority of them in Kaminari no Kuni."

"Who are the highest ranking people?"

"Jiraya... I can only tell you so much on this. I am sticking to code names only, fair?"

"Fine."

"Kitsune is the commander of all of the members of Yugure with Tanuki, Neko, Kame, Saru, Irukauma, Kabutomushi, and O Ushi all having advisory positions along with several other members such as Ryu, Batto, Kobura, and Washi. However all of the allies send representatives to give voice amongst the group so we know exactly what is going on in each homeland. All members otherwise stand equal to each other and if the majority say so the positions will be shifted to allow for one who is more suited to the role take the place." Naruto replied.

"I see. Listen Naruto, if things start to get bad here, you can always come find me."

"Thanks, but I am fine with the way things are. Just don't get yourself killed, I expect you to be joining us once Konahagakure is gone." Naruto laughed.

"Really now, that confident?"

"Jiraya you have yet to see us in action. All we are doing is small work, establishing our limits and powers. Soon we are going to strike and the world will tremble in fear at the true terror that lies within the growing darkness." Naruto grinned as he walked off "And Jiraya, you have until tomorrow evening to be out of Kaminari no Kuni before things get violent." Gulping Jiraya started walking away, shaking his head at the information that Naruto had given him at the cost of giving him information about the terrorist organization. Once the perverted sannin was back in Konahagakure he went to Tsunade with the information.

"I see. So we are in trouble." she sighed.

"That about sums it up hime." he nodded "The fact is that I believe the kid when he says that he's going to destroy Konahagakure, he means business and the toads are refusing to take part in this since the two summoners are standing on opposite ends of this conflict."

"That's not good. Has Naruto gone to Mount Myōboku yet?"

"No. The toads say that he hasn't gone there to learn senjutsu yet, but it is only a matter of time before he does."

"But by which way... He could be trying to use this war as a distraction so he can gain the training."

"No. He doesn't know the secret paths so the only way would be for a reverse summoning to occur." Jiraya replied "Besides the toads aren't important right now. Our main concern is this, Yugure may not have great amounts of members, but they have easily enough to combat us for a long time. They have eight jinchuruki fighting with them, all of them learning how to use their demon to the best of their abilities. They have several nations fighting with them, with two of the five great nations already with them. They have us at a massive disadvantage that our only strength lies in the fact that we have superior numbers, and have a lot of talent amongst our ranks."

"I get it." Tsunade sighed "But what can we do?"

"As much as I hate to say it, we may have to talk to the remaining nations that haven't allied with them if we want to stand any chance of winning." Jiraya sighed "That means we have to convince Iwagakure and Kirigakure to assist us in this battle."

"Ugh." Tsunade sighed as she slammed her head on her desk "Jiraya, send messengers to Iwagakure and Kirigakure. Tell them that I want to discuss something that is of mutual interest." Nodding the white haired sannin walked out of the room, passing the message on to Shizune who in turn sent out the birds.


	6. AN

And I live! I apologize for being gone for so long to all of you readers. Due to my labtop's motherboard dieing on me I lost all of the stories that I had on their, which has caused me a lot of problems since I had several chapters written before the last ones that I posted, along with some new stories that I was planning on posting. At the moment however I am using the download option to regain what I had posted and then from there I will continue writing again. Expect updates from me rapidly for a little bit(in case you follow me as an author), and I will post on my profile the order I intend to update all the stories. Please note that some of them are going to be shut down, and classified as dead due to lack of inspiration, no where for it to go, or that I have lost so much from that fic that there is really no way to recover it in a timely fashion. So again, just head on over to my profile and you will see the order that I intend to start publishing again. Ah... It's good to be back.


	7. Immortal

_AN: And I am officially back! First some quick notes before I get to the mass amounts of reviews that have been received since I last posted. First, just in case those of you that messaged were also PMing me, I will be looking into recovering my harddrive, but from what a computer friend of mine told me, it doesn't look good since my old laptop was a literal anomaly by the way it managed to work for the better part of ten years. Second, I did manage to keep some written notes for where I wanted to go with most of my stories and I will try to rewrite the chapters to be as close to the originals as I possibly can, but as this chapter has proven there will be differences. Lastly I plan on updating each story twice a month, if everything goes well. Ok, now the reviews._

_CelestialxXxAngel: You will have to wait and see for that, but it won't be for some time._

_Guest: For the love of god. I went with the spelling that I have been told is correct. I do not speak Japanese or understand the process of translating it. I have seen both Konoha and Konaha. It's the freaking leaf village, so drop it. Same goes for the Kazikage, I have seen it both ways and it's freaking simple mistake to make._

_Rose Tiger: You've given me a good point to say this so thank you, I do not plan on having every chapter with Hinata or her having a major part to play. Mostly this will focus on Naruto and his plans, and while Hinata is also a key player in this I can't always find the room in a chapter to focus on her._

_lilnudger82: By all means go right ahead. If it wasn't for the fact I'm writing this I'd be asking you to pass the popcorn._

_PeterKim: You will see about the Kiri and Iwa matter, and as for the Akatsuki, well Naruto has his means, but last chapter should prove that he isn't getting the intel directly from the Akatsuki, but there is more then one way to find out information on them._

_Wyrtha: Ok, the questions is something that is kind of important. When Naruto is dealing with Jiraya he will always give him the best he can. Jiraya was one of the few people that really cared about him, so he is more willing to help out Jiraya then say Kakashi. As for the Kakashi part, that is my take on the matter. There are plenty of people that think he slacked off way too much with Naruto, but keep in mind we weren't there for his whole genin training, so we really don't know how much training he did with them. And while he did focus a lot more on Sasuke, I played that off to knowing that Jiraya would be wanting to take over, and as I can tell you from experience, you start to pick up habits from people that teach you. The alliances will be explained soon enough, so just be patient. And as for the beat down the 2 bastards got just wait, I have a better one planned for Sasuke later down the line._

_Angels will bleed from pain: I do intend to have character death, but not anytime soon. Just be patient and you will see what I have in mind._

_naruhina-namikaze: You'll just have to keep reading to find out._

_bankai777: No they won't be dying anytime soon, I need them alive for the moment. And no, Naruto will not be teaching them the hiraishin, simply because he had a hard enough time learning it, that one time in chapter one was actually a fluke, planned on explaining that later so those of you that actually read this just got a nice little tidbit._

_Veraozoa: Flattered by that, but don't let my girlfriend find out, she'd either kill me or make me wish I was dead._

_Sakura Ichigo Morihiko: Just wait and see. Naruto already knows who he plans on recruiting from Konaha, and that list won't be revealed until closer to the war._

_Oniix: I left that up to the readers, it was all of you out there that decided to do it, and I'm sorry if you don't like it, but that is what is going to happen. And it's not Naruto whoring himself out, there will be buildup to each one. And wanting me banned for life? That is rather harsh, it's not like I'm encouraging drug use or something. Besides while I may not practice this but there are plenty of people out there that have multiple CONSENSUAL partners and they have happy stable relationships. So I would ask you kindly to not flame me simply because I let the readers decide what was to happen._

_DarkerThanB1ack: Oh no worries there, Konaha will burn to the ground, it's a requirement for the fic I believe, and even if it isn't I will have it happen. I put too much damn work into this to not have it happen. But I'm not going to rush this, I like to let them build up to it, making the climax all the more exciting._

_Kirbyrulz: I needed a reason to have all the elders get rid of Naruto. Normally I do agree that he wouldn't say this, but for this he supports the power of the Uchiha and wants a more loyal clan of them in Konaha._

_bad girl 61: Well here you go._

_OK, some last minute things before I forget. Don't expect another update until next month most likely, thought if things go well I might squeeze one more in before the end of the month. And most important of all, enjoy!_

Immortal

"Faster!" Naruto shouted as he kicked Yukimaru in the stomach, lifting him off the ground for a moment as he continued the barrage of attacks. Yukimaru seemed to try and respond but Naruto was a far superior opponent, forcing the youth to try and dodge around attacks that most jonin would have had trouble with.

"Is he always this harsh?" Guren asked from the side of the training grounds where the other jinchuruki were watching.

"Normally yes." Gaara nodded.

"He's a hard taskmaster but in the end he does know what it takes to draw out the full potential of his students." Yugito agreed "He won't push him any harder than his body can handle."

"You sure?" Guen asked, watching as Yukimaru was looking very exhausted.

"Of course we sure, Yukimaru can endure." Bee grinned as Yugito smacked him upside the head.

"I thought we said no rapping." she sighed.

"There is something that I'm curious about. How did Yugure get set up here?" Guren asked.

"It was almost a year ago actually." Yugito began.

_*Flashback*_

_Yugito and Bee had been called to the Raikage's office, to be a show of force for the leader of Yugure. There had been rumors circulating around that Yugure had entered their borders and were helping the village people deal with various problems that normally their shinobi would be sent to handle. Now the mysterious leader was coming with a small party to talk to the Raikage._

_"Just stay silent, and let's see what he has in mind." A stated as the two took up positions among his usual guards. It wasn't long before A's secretary informed them that the party from Yugure had arrived. The door's opened to reveal a young man with a fox anbu mask on, close to Yugito's height walking in. He only had one of the swords at this time and as he entered he gave off an aura of confidence. There were two other people with him, one was a young girl with a Kirigakure style hunter nin mask with blue marks on it, while the other was a man, as tall as the Raikage, with long brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a tan poncho with baggy gray pants visible with three straps on each leg, fingerless gauntletts that had four knuckle protusions and shoes with two cylindrical protrusions from each one. This man scared Yugito, more then the man in the fox mask._

_"Raikage-sama." the fox masked youth nodded, bowing slightly to show his respect to the leader of the village._

_"So you're the leader of Yugure?" A asked, going straight to the point, as was his strong suit._

_"I am. I am called Kitsune." he replied "I have come to speak of an alliance with you."_

_"An alliance?" A frowned "I don't see why you would seek to ally with a nation when you are a bunch of mercenaries."_

_"A reasonable question." Kitsune nodded "To answer, I seek to unite the world under a single banner, to bring about an everlasting peace. I seek to unite all the nations of the world, and while Haru no Kuni has agreed to help support us, we are a growing organization, and they will not have the means of aiding us for much longer, at least not alone. It is why I have come to you to ask for this alliance."_

_"You managed to get Haru no Kuni, the biggest neutral village in the Elemental Nations to side with you?" A blinked._

_"I have a history with their leader." Kitsune replied with a shrug "But as I said, it is not enough to support us forever. We need one of the five great nations behind us."_

_"And you chose us? Am I supposed to be flattered?" A snapped._

_"No. I chose you based on logic, and for one of the goals that we have set for ourselves, at the request of one of our members." Kitsune shrugged "Iwagakure would reject us for fear of upsetting the current balance of power. Kirigakure is still too unstable from the purge that their Yondaime started. Sunagakure doesn't have the resources for more then what they arleady have."_

_"And Konahagakure?" A asked._

_"We will see it burn." Kitsune stated bluntly "They have crossed to many lines in the last few years, and have become a cancerous sore on the name of shinobi. We will remove that sore."_

_A blinked at this, he had heard many people wanting to oppose Konahagakure, but never one that spoke of peace. He stared at the leader some more before he decided to probe into the matter some more._

_"Let's set aside the matter of Konahagakure for a moment, since as you know there is little love lost between us. Why should we make this alliance with you, what is in it for us?"_

_"Very well. First we will offer you the best benefits for joining us. We seek to take unite the entire world, whether by the pen or by the sword will be up to them. First, will be your own fleet of airships that Haru no Kuni is currently working on. The prototypes are nearing completion and once they are done I will be willing to take you to see them in action before we work on the real fleet. Second will be access to Yugure's knowledge. I have been traveling the land for many years now and have searched through many of the secret places, finding much knowledge that was lost and I am willing to share it with you. Finally will be a vow, that should any hostilities befall your village Yugure will aid you with all of our power."_

_A frowned at all of this information, but if what he was saying was true, he was offering him a rather large lump of gold._

_"I assume that there are conditions for your end of this deal?" A remarked._

_"Indeed. First is that you give us your full support in our plans, and once you align with us you will be allowed access to them, there will be no secrets between us. Second is that should we go to war and we call for your aid you are to help us. Lastly, I would like your two jinchuruki to join us as full Yugure operatives."_

_"No." A stated bluntly "I will not release the jinchuruki to you."_

_"This isn't mine or your choice, this is for them to decide." Kitsune replied as he looked at Bee and then Yugito "Yugure was created to be a haven for the jinchuruki, a safe place where they will not be mistreated."_

_"So you say." A snorted._

_"Why would I lie?" he asked._

_"To gain two incredibly powerful jinchuruki under your control so you can turn around and stab us in the back. So you can take control of this village with to powerful demons at your command to squash any rebellions tha might start." A sneered._

_There was a moment of silence before they all felt KI wash over them as red chakra started to swirl around Kitsune. It started to take form, becoming several tails, waving around angrily as he stared at A, his rage growing. Before anyone could move the girl grabbed his arm and started pulling on it._

_"Girl needs to get back, kid's about to crack!" Bee shouted as he drew one of his blades._

_Kitsune looked at the girl and then the red charka started to disappear as he started to calm down._

_"Thank you Nami. I owe twenty Ryo to the jar." he sighed._

_"What was that?" A asked "Are you..."_

_"I am." he nodded "I recieved the burden that my mother carried before me."_

_"So that's why you're so intent on helping the jinchuruki." Yugito stated._

_"Yes. Consider this a show of good faith." he stated as he removed his mask "My full name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."_

_All of the shinobi blinked at this. Namikaze was a well known name, and if this young man was his son then that meant that he was either a missig nin, or that he had been banished._

_"It's safe to assume that you know of our history with your father." A remarked._

_"That was then, this is now." Naruto replied "Just because my father was your foe, does not mean that I am."_

_"I see. Care to explain that little display?"_

_"Kyubi has yet to fully bow to my will." Naruto sighed "When my temper flares he gets a little foothold and manages to do what you just saw. Nami here is the only one that can calm me down without the need to battle me. Otherwise it takes several jonin ranked nin, or my sensei to stop me."_

_"And the jar?" Yugito asked._

_"Every time I lose my temper I put money into the jar, as a way to help me stop losing it so often. Once the jar is filled I take it and get her a treat." Naruto explained. Yugito blinked at this and started to giggle when Nami spoke._

_"It's almost full." Nami stated, a smile in her voice._

_"I assume that your sensei is the man behind you." A remarked._

_"I am." he nodded._

_"Your name?"_

_"I have many names, but you may call me Hao Asakura." Hao smiled._

_"Hao Asakura?!" A exclaimed "The Hao Asakura, the Buzoku Shushin? The Y__ōso no masutā__?"_

_"The one and only." Hao nodded "It is refreshing to know that I am still well known to the world after all these years away."_

_"And how did you become this kid's sensei?" A asked._

_"I found him wandering the world and I took an interest in him. He had great potential and I sought to bring it out." Hao smiled "He is adept student, devouring jutsu like a glutton does food. He will make an excellent successor to me when my time comes."_

_"You know I have bigger dreams then that." Naruto chuckled._

_"This is a lot to take in." A sighed._

_"I know that I ask a lot, and that there are a great many risks, but the rewards are worth it." Naruto explained._

_"So you say. I will need some time to think on this. I will inform you of my decision when I have made it." A replied._

_"That is perfectly fine. We will be camped near the mountains to your south. Send a messager bird when you have made your decision." Naruto nodded as he bowed again and left with his two companions._

"It took the Raikage a few days to make up his mind, and his choice wasn't a popular one amongst all the shinobi. He finally agreed to let Yugure align with them, and that caused several revolts across the country. Yugure helped put them down, and in the end we let the shinobi of those revolts that surrendured rejoin the ranks with no repercussions." Yugito explained.

"That simple?" Guren asked.

"Yeah. The boss is a softie sometimes." Yugito chuckled "He should be finished with Yukimaru in just a moment..."

Naruto struck again, unleashing a sweeping kick that knocked Yukimaru to the ground before stopping a punch just before it hit him.

"TIME?!" he shouted over to the spectators.

"3 hours 47 minutes 43 seconds!" Han shouted back.

"Alright Yukimaru, we're done for today. Go eat and rest. Tomorrow you're working with Han on that mist of yours." Naruto explained as he patted the boy on the back. Guren walked over and walked with the boy, taking him to the dining hall while Naruto went to talk with the other jinchuruki.

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked.

"His ninjutsu skills are low chunin at the moment, but he has a strong affinity for water and wind." Gaara replied.

"He has some skill in taijutsu, but there is a lot of work ahead of him." Yugito added.

"His drawing on the power of the Sanbi is slow coming. He can handle only a single tail at the moment and we are still working on him getting the second tail with just chakra." Roshi stated.

"That mist of his isn't a Kekkei Genkai. It might be some bastardized version of the Kirigakure no Jutsu." Han noted.

"He doesn't have any skill for genjutsu, but I have him working on recognizing them until we can find some that he can handle." Fu shrugged.

"No need to hate, this kid will be great." Bee laughed.

"Glad to see we all agree." Naruto nodded as he stated to leave "I'm going to get some rest, wake me if there's an emergency."

"Got it." Fu nodded as the other jinchuruki all went off to do their own thing.

At the border of Kaminari no Kuni two figure in black coats with red clouds on them approached a border station.

"So Leader-sama wants us to break in, and kill as many as we can?" the one carrying the scythe asked.

"That's what he told us." the other man nodded "Kill any that get in our way, and try to capture any jinchuruki that we can get our hands on."

"So no need to hold back?"

"None you idiot."

"Ah, Jashin will be well pleased with this carnage!" the other exclaimed as the reached the border station.

Naruto slept peacefully until he felt one of the seals that he kept on his person heat up. Jumping out of bed he checked the seal and saw that it was one of the seals that he had given to all of the jinchuruki in Yugure. Currently the number two was flashing red, meaning that Akatsuki was attacking and that they were stronger than they could handle. Knowing that the others seals would be going off as well Naruto made his way towards Yugito's training ground. It took him a few minutes to Hiraishin close enough to it and get there, and when he arrived he saw that Yugito was already in her Biju form and was trying to crush the two Akatsuki that were attacking her.

"Show time." Naruto growled as he leapt down, flashing through various hand signs "Futon: Renkudan(Drilling Air Bullet)!"

The two Akatsuki were caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the blonde and were sent flying by the attack as Naruto took a fighting stance.

"You ok?" Naruto asked.

"Been better." Yugito replied "They can't die."

"Damn." Naruto muttered "Guess we just cut them into tiny pieces."

"So who's this fucktard?" the scythe user spat.

"That is Naruto Uzumaki. Danzo from Konaha has a bounty on his head, and he's a jinchuruki. A two for one deal." the other chuckled.

"Well let's get him Kakuzu!"

"Not so fast Hidan. This kid isn't to be taken lightly." Kakuzu warned.

"That's right, especially when I'm not alone." Naruto chuckled as the other jinchuruki arrived "You been looking for us, well here we are."

Kakuzu took note of each one of the jinchuruki there and then stated "I count 7. You're one short."

"He isn't ready to play with you." Naruto replied "Split up, take the one best suited to your abilities."

"Got it." they all nodded as they struck. Naruto, Gaara and Fu went straight for Hidan, who had a maniacal grin on his face as he swung his scythe at them, but Naruto already had Geiru out, blocking the slashes as Gaara was sending waves of sand at the man while Fu prepared some Doton techniques to help take him down.

The others were focusing on Kakuzu who realizing that he was at a disadvantage unleashed all of his hearts and let them focus on the various jinchuruki. Bee went straight for Kakuzu while Yugito handled the Wind and Lightning masks. Han fought against the Fire mask and Han handled the Water Mask.

Yugito was still in her Biju form and when the two masks tried to use a combination attack she simply blocked it, smashing the wind one and letting the fire devour it before using her tails to grab the Lightning mask and fire a point blank Bijudama.

While this was going on Han was fighitng against the Fire mask, counteracting the fire jutsu with water jutsu and working his way closer.

"Suiton: Hanhonryu (Tearing Torrent)!" Han roared as he used the water jutsu to smash to smash his hand through the mask and destroy the heart inside of it.

Kakuzu was now getting worried. He had felt his three hearts get destroyed and realized that if things continued like this then he might actually die. Bee wasn't giving him a chance to retreat though as he had used the Raikage's Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor) to give himself the edge and cancel out the Doton: Domu (Earth Spear) technique.

"This isn't looking good." Kakuzu grunted as he dodged a punch "This wasn't the plan."

"Your plan has already failed, and you got no chance to bail." Bee laughed as he struck "Lariat!"

Kakuzu was unprepared as he was struck by the powerful strike to his neck and fell to the ground dazed as Bee took a lightning enhanced blade to his heart, stabbing him and pinning the nin to the ground.

Roshi was smirking as he weaved around the attacks of the water mask and smirked as he used his biju's power to enhance his final technique. Leaping back he finished the handsigns and smirked while saying.

"Yoton: Baindingu yōgan(Lava Release: Binding Lava)!" Roshi exclaimed as the molten magma that he had been draing up to the surface sprang forth and pinned the masked monstrosity to the ground. Turning he walked away as Kakuu looked at the sight and had a faint glimmer of hope that they wouldn't actually kill him and that he might be able to escape. That hope died along with him quickly as the second half of the technique triggered. A pillar of magma shot up, engulfing the entire thing before cooling quickly and becoming a giant stone pillar.

"Yoton: Maguma hashira(Magma Pillar)." Roshi stated as the last heart was destroyed. Kakuzu managed to chuckle a little as he finally died after so many years alive.

Hidan was growing annoyed with the tactics that Naruto, Fu and Gaara used against him. Naruto managed to keep him back using Reijingu-fū to keep Hidan back and manage to inflict several small wounds on him while Gaara was using his sand to keep Hidan away from Fu who had taken the cylindrical object off of her back and was preparing something.

"You bastards! JUST DIE!" Hidan screamed as Naruto leapt away from his scythe and Fu nodded that she was finished. Fu stood, holding several short metal spikes that were now glowing red with the Nanabi's chakra.

"Try this. Hiden: Piasu no Arashi(Piercing Storm)." Fu grinned as the spikes shot off and started stabbing Hidan, pinning him to the wall behind him as he exclaimed from the pain.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! HOW DARE YOU PUT ALL THESE FUCKING HOLES IN MY BODY! I'M GOING TO ENJOY MAKING YOU SUFFER YOU BITCH!" Hidan roared.

"Quite the mouth on him." Naruto noted as he swung Reijingu-fū to sever his head, earning more of the cursing "Gaara if you would be so kind."

"Gladly." Gaara replied as he had his sand wrap around the now headless body of Hidan, remove the metal spikes and then crushed it to the point where no amount of medical ninjutsu would be able to fix it.

"YOU FUCKING SHITS! YOU JUST FUCKED UP MY BODY! I'LL KILL YOU!" he raged as Naruto turned to check on how the others were doing.

"Everyone ok?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." Yugito nodded as she was back in her human form now.

"HEY KAKUZU! GET UP AND HELP ME!" Hidan shouted at his partner.

"Too late." Roshi snorted "The fool is dead."

"NO WAY!" Hidan shouted. Now Naruto was having enough of listening to Hidan and set the head on the ground, used one hand to hold the mouth open and the other to cut out his tongue.

"I still have no idea why he is still alive." Fu remarked as she saw Naruto toss the tongue off to the side "Or how he was able to keep talking after we cut his head off."

"Let's just chalk it up to being a disciple of Jashin and leave it at that." Naruto replied as the others all nodded their agreement "But I have to admit, not being able to die is a pretty sweet deal."

"No kidding, but the cost is rather high." Han noted as he looked at the two Akatsuki "So what should we do with them?"

"I have an idea." Naruto grinned as the others all looked at him slightly worried.

"The boss is in a mood, this is going to be good." Bee chuckled as Naruto just grinned.

The next day at the main entrance to Kaminari no Kuni there were two heads on spears. The first was rather unharmed while the second one had it's mouth stiched shut, and it's eyes and ears were missing, with the both having been burned so that they were disfigured almost beyond recognition. Beneath the pair was a sign that read "Beware all who enter here with evil intentions."

That same day Tsunade was at the meeting point in Kawa no Kuni with Jiraya and Hinata in the shadows ready to aid her if the meeting went south. As she sat in the meeting room the door opened and a young woman entered with two men. She wore a blue strapless dress that drew the eye to her rather large bosom and her red hair covered her right eye. The two men were almost opposites of one another, one was young with goggles on, with a massive weapon on his back that had two hilts coming from it. The other man was older with an eye patch on, and looked to have weathered many hardships. By their headbands they were from Kirigakure and from how the two acted towards the woman she must be the Godaime Mizukage.

"Hokage-sama." she smiled as she nodded to her.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mizukage-sama." Tsunade smiled.

"Please, we're both equals, call me Mei."

"Tsunade."

Before the pleasantries could continue another three entered. One was an old man with a large nose while his guards were a young man and a young woman.

"So only the three of us eh?" he asked with a smirk.

"Tsuchikage-sama." Tsunade nodded.

"Well we're all here, so what is this about?" he asked as he sat down.

"Yes, I am just as curious about this meeting, and why the Raikage and the Kazikage were not invited." Mei noted.

"Straight to the point then. We are the only three of the great shinobi nations that have not bowed to Yugure." Tsunade stated.

"Ah..." the Tsuchikage nodded "Now this makes sense."

"At the moment the world is being divided between Yugure and remaining independent. And any that don't bow to them will be destroyed." Tsunade explained.

"Are you certain?" Mei asked.

"Konahagakure was not offered the chance to join, a member of this organization wants us destroyed." Tsunade sighed "And I think I know who, but pray that I am wrong."

"Oh? Who among this organization that preaches peace wants to destroy you?" the Tsuchikage asked.

"His name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, a former Konaha shinobi that was banished on very weak charges." Tsunade replied.

"Damn. I knew that he had son." the Tsuchikage snorted "But why would the son of the village's most cherished Hokage be banished?"

"Only a select few knew that information. Now that he is over 16 however this information can be devulged to certain parties. However we are straying from the point. I assume that both of you have recieved represenatives from Yugure."

"I have." he nodded "I turned them down. Iwagakure has remained a strong and independent village since it's founding and I will not have that thrown away while I remain Tsuchikage!"

"They approached my village as well. We haven't given them an answer yet, but the represenative warned us that if we take too long we may be deemed an enemy and have to be invaded." Mei explained.

"Then you can probably understand why I have asked you here. It is in our best interest to form an alliance against Yugure if we hope to remain free." Tsunade proposed.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend eh?" the Tsuchikage nodded "I can see the wisdom in that. If they already have so many other nations supporting them now is not the time to be divided. We work together and oppose them."

"I must decline at this time." Mei remarked "My village is still recovering from the previous Mizukage's madness. I can't condem my people to a battle that me might not even be able to win. Until I am certain that we would stand a chance against Yugure I must stand down."

"That is your choice Mizukage." the Tsuchikage snorted "But only a coward sits back and waits."

"Better cowardice that protects my people then bravery that condems them." Mei replied coldly as she turned and left.

"Well then Tsuchikage, shall we begin planning?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes let's. And my allies may call me Onoki." he nodded. With that the pair began discussing strategies that they could use against Yugure in hopes that all their planning would be enough to turn the tide if war truly broke out.

_AN: Ok, and there you all go. Please leave your reviews once finished, let's me know what I need to work on._


	8. Oni no Kuni

_Sorry for the wait on this chapter, due to some minor difficulties with my life I was unable to get to writing and updating, mainly due to my new job. So while the updates will remain regular there might be long gaps between them. Now on to the reviews._

_Angels will bleed from pain: I will look into it._

_Suave Jiraiya: No worries, only a few of my stories are truly dead. Thank you for the praise on the political aspects of that chapter, I was kind of worried that I hadn't done a good job on that. As for the Onoki part, well for that he is a cunning old man and he is the kind of person that will work with someone to take down a bigger threat then stab that person in the back for a larger slice of the spoils. That's why I thought he would likely work with Konaha. Mei has her reasons for staying out of this and she knows better then to mess with a stronger power when they aren't at full strength themselves. Naruto and Hinata's relationship isn't going to be moving too quickly as they don't get to see one another very often, and while I try to have interactions between them when I can there is only so much I can do without messing with the flow of the story or taking away from the plot. Finally, I am glad you agree about the bashing of the banshee and the emo._

_Laura-Jean95: Thank you for the advice, I will try to stress it more in later chapters, and I do have a very good one in mind. And trust me Tsunade is being cautious with this alliance, she isn't stupid enough to believe that he would work with them and not have some other motive._

_DemonRedBeastBoy: Not yet. Utakata won't be up for awhile seeing as he does wander around quite a bit and is difficult to find because of that. And while Yugure has a vague idea where he might be they know he is strong enough to look after himself for awhile before they go to recruit him._

_Chewie Cookies: Ok let me repeat this. I DO NOT speak or write Japanese, so for my original techniques I go to google translate, I know it sucks but it is the best that I have to work with. Second for the whole Konaha thing. I've gotten bitched at about it for both spellings so I'm just going with the one that I have seen the most often._

_shadow-red0: First, Mizu may or may not join them right away. They are more likely to sit back and see what is happening first before they decide if they want to take the gamble and oppose Yugure. Second, Nami's past was covered as much as Naruto knows. He never was able to find out who her family was and she has never felt like telling him due to the bad memories. She is only a supporting character in this fic so she won't have mass amounts of screen time but I will try to add her in more often when it is appropriate. Third, Hinata doesn't get as much time in the lime light because mostly these opening chapters are dealing with Naruto and Yugure before things get really interesting in my opinion. And I might show her confronting her father, though it wasn't an actual physical confrontation at that time, more of a verbal one before she found the loophole out of the clan, much to Hiashi's anger. Though who knows, maybe I'll have them go at it at a later date._

_OK then. Now one thing I would like to note is that no one seemed to notice the shout out to another manga I made in the previous chapter, or if you did you simply didn't place a review about it. I am kind of disappointed but maybe this little note will get some of you to catch it. Anyways here is the next chapter and as always read and review._

Oni no Kuni

Naruto and A were looking over a map of the current national borders, marking the various nations that had allied with them. Before they could mark many more the doors were knocked open and a Yugure shinobi ran in, all a fluster.

"Raikage-sama! Kitsune-sama! We just received word from our operatives in the south, Moryo has been revived!" he exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Naruto and A both shouted exchanging looks.

"How did this happen?" A asked.

"The shrine housing his spirit was attacked. No one survived. At the moment his army is on the march, heading towards Hi no Kuni at the moment."

Naruto frowned as he went back to map and began tracing a route that they were likely to take.

"If they succeed in taking Hi no Kuni then too many of our allies will be helpless. As much as I would like to watch them fall we can't afford to leave our allies helpless to this demon." Naruto mused "A, I'll head to Konahagakure and see what they plan on doing. This is a Class A emergency. Send word to all Yugure operatives that they are to gather and prepare for war."

"Right. I'll get the Kumogakure nin ready and send word to the rest of our allies." A nodded as Naruto donned his mask and Hiraishined to Tsunade's office. Tsunade had just finished briefing all the jonin in the village and returned to her office when she saw a flash of orange and Kitsune standing there.

"Kitsune." Tsunade nodded.

"Hokage-sama. I am here about the Moryo problem." he stated "Yugure is preparing to fight this threat as we speak, along with the rest of our allies."

"Really?" Tsunade asked, slightly surprised.

"We may want you destroyed eventually but Moryo is too great a threat to leave alone. Yugure will soon be entering your borders to assist your forces in handling his army." Yugure explained "It is safe to assume that you will be sending a team to help the priestess stop this calamity."

"I did." Tsunade nodded.

"Then allow me to send an operative with them. Someone that will work well with almost any team you decide on." Kitsune offered.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Tsunade asked.

"Because I am a man of my word, and I swear to you here and now that until Moryo has been dealt with Yugure and it's allies will make no move against you." he replied as he bowed his head to her "This threat is too great to ignore, or to let our differences stop us from protecting the world."

Tsunade sighed when she realized that he had a point "Fine. How soon can your operative be here?"

"Give him twenty minutes and he will be here. And if anything should happen to him and I suspect treachery. Well let's just say that you had better hand over all parties responsible or we will hasten our plans to destroy you." Kitsune warned as he disappeared in a flash of orange light.

Tsunade just sighed as she had Shizune get her Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee and Sakura Haruno. Once the three were standing before her she explained what they planned on doing.

"While the bulk of our forces handle the army, you four are going to protecting the priestess until she can stop Moryo." Tsunade stated.

"Um Tsunade-sama, there are only three of us." Sakura pointed out.

"That is because the fourth operative is on loan to us." Tsunade stated as suddenly Naruto appeared in a Hiraishin.

"Hey Baa-chan." Naruto grinned "Here and ready to work."

"YOU!" Sakura shouted, causing all four of the others in the room to flinch.

"Yes me you banshee." Naruto stated "Kitsune sent me saying that I have the most experience with Konahagakure shinobi and would be the easiest to intergrate into a team."

"A wise choice." Tsunade nodded "I assume you've been briefed."

"Yep." Naruto nodded.

"Good. Time is of the essence you four and failure is not an option. Do whatever it takes to complete this mission." Tsunade ordered.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Neji nodded as the four turned and walked out, with Sakura giving Naruto death glares as the blonde stopped and turned to Tsunade.

"Tell Hinata-chan that I said hello." Naruto smiled as he followed the group to the gates of the village where he and Neji were soon discussing the plan.

"Lee is our close quarters fighter." Neji stated "With Sakura as medic and myself as scout."

"And I'm your wildcard." Naruto replied "I've got plenty of ninjutsu skills, plus I've also picked up a few other tricks since I left."

"That is what I thought as well." Neji nodded as they started "It will take several hours to get to Oni no Kuni."

"Then we better work fast. Time is against us." Naruto replied as they set a fast pace. It took most of the night for them to reach the outskirts of the temple and when they got close Naruto suddenly started going faster.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Neji asked.

"Don't you smell that?! It's blood!" Naruto roared as he sprinted into the compound, leaping over dozens of fallen bodies and then into the temple where he found four shinobi about to kill the priestess.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto shouted as he leapt over them, skidding to a stop in front of the priestess. All she could see was a black coat swaying in front of her face with a golden sunburst on it, one that she recognized.

"Who is this?" one of the shinobi asked.

"Why didn't he sneak up on us?" the second one asked.

"Is he super strong like us?"

"Or perhaps he's an idiot." the final one snickered.

"One way to find out." Naruto chuckled as he drew his swords "Let's dance." Channeling his wind chakra into his swords he swung them, sending a massive burst of wind that sent the four flying outside of the temple where Naruto soon leapt down after them, swinging his blades in an intracate dance that kept all four of them back and away from the temple as he ducked weaved and slashed at his opponents. The four quickly realized that this blonde was delaying them and nodded as their leader slipped away to go after the priestess while Naruto leapt over the remaining three and crossed his blades, flashing the dawn light in to the trees above the temple. Suddenly Lee leapt down, smashing into the ground where the three were while Neji went after the shinobi that had run off.

"Die you brat!" the female shouted "Katon: Hibashira(Running Fire)!" she roared as the fire created a ring in front of her as one of her teammates struck next.

"Futon: Kami Oroshi(Godly Wind of the Mountain)!" he roared as the wind hit the fire, creating a jet of fire heading straight for Naruto and Lee.

"Cry out Reijingu-fū!" Naruto shouted as he poured more chakra into the sword, sheathing Geiru to hold it with both hands, and swung the blade down towards the fire, cleaving it in two and sending a blade of wind straight towards the pair who leapt to the sides when they saw the fire being split.

"This kid is crazy!" the last guy shouted as they saw their apparent leader return and signal them to retreat. They soon began running and Naruto frowned at them before sheathing his blade. Turning he saw Sakura arrive, having actually followed Neji's order and scouted the area to make sure that there were no other hidden shinobi.

"Clear." Sakura stated as she checked Lee over for any injuries.

"Good. Let's go meet out client." Naruto smirked as he turned and walked towards the temple where Neji met them with the priestess and one of her remaining bodyguards. It took a few moments but soon the priestess was seated and her bodyguard introduced her.

"Behold, Shion the priestess of Oni no Kuni." he stated as they all looked at the girl.

"I am Rock Lee."

"Hi, Sakura Haruno.

"Neji Hyuga my lady. We are the guards sent from Konahagakure no Sato."

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, representative from Yugure in this matter." Naruto stated with a nod. Soon Neji was discussing with the bodyguard Taruho about the losses and what had occured when Shion spoke, saying that her bodyguards had died defending her and that they would be happy that their sacrifice had some purpose.

"Is that right?" Naruto growled as he shunsuied right in front of her "I know a bastard that thinks everyone should sacrifice everything for him, and I've made it my personal mission to see him miserable. Now is that what you really think?"

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted as she saw this and was about to hit him when Shion spoke.

"You are going to die... Very soon."

Now Naruto blinked in surprise before speaking "Is that so? Care to elaborate?"

"You will be pierced through the chest. Defending me." Shion said, trying to control herself from shaking.

"Hmph." Naruto snorted "I don't hold much in prophecy."

"Please, allow me to show you to a room so you may relax before you leave." Taruho offered as Naruto and Neji both nodded their agreement and walked with the man.

"So does that predicting death thing happen often?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. It usually involves one of my ladies retainers dieing to protect her." he explained.

"And how often is she right?" Naruto continued.

"You shouldn't worry." Taruho replied.

"So not often?"

"No, she has 100% accuracy on her predictions." Taruho stated "That is why you shouldn't worry, for there is nothing that can be done about it so worrying would only make you miserable."

"Who knows, maybe this will get you to wise up baka." Sakura laughed as Naruto paused long enough to look at her with an amused smirk.

"Maybe I'll just kawarimi with you right before it happens." Naruto replied as they entered the room "Now until it is time to leave, I plan on sleeping."

"Very well. I will awake you when it is time." Neji nodded as he and Lee walked over to the table to talk and plan. Naruto lay awake for a time, thinking over what Shion had said and trying to think of what sort of situation would occur where he would have to die in order for the mission to succeed. Frowning he decided that worrying over this situation wouldn't change anything and that the only thing he could do was try to avoid death if possible, and who knows, maybe he survives the blow thanks to Kyubi. A few hours later Neji came and woke Naruto telling him that they were leaving. Soon the four shinobi were with Shion who was leading them towards a waterfall at the back of the temple.

"Aren't you supposed to have an escort my lady?" Sakura asked.

"I can choose to leave them behind if I wish." Shion replied calmly.

"Don't want to risk any more lives. I can respect that." Naruto nodded as they walked through the waterfall and soon were leaping through the trees, making their way towards their destination. As they leapt through the trees Naruto fell back a bit and caught Shion make a comment how Sakura didn't have a womanly shape at all. Naruto burst out laughing at this and smiled at Shion.

"She has a point Billboard Brow." Naruto chuckled as he stopped and dropped to the ground, just before an arrow hit the branch where he had been about to step on. Looking ahead Naruto saw Taruho had caught up to them and was determined to keep up. This quickly lead to an argument between him and Shion which was very one sided.

"Should we stop them?" Neji asked.

"It is most unyouthful to watch this bickering." Lee noted.

"They can't last much longer." Naruto shrugged as he walked over, put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud shrill whistle that caused all of the others to jump "Ok, I've personally had enough of watching this one sided argument. Shion, he's not going to leave so just suck it and accept that fact that you will have one bodyguard instead of the full entorage that you were expecting. Now we are wasting time and the longer this takes, the more likely that Moryo's Ghost Army will reach the border where our forces are waiting and I would like to have this finished before that happens so we don't have to lose any good shinobi. So shut up, get on Sakura's back and let's get a move on."

No one had anything to counter with as Naruto turned and started walking again. They soon realized that this one guard was going to slow them down and make a one day trip turn into two. It was dark when they finally stopped, staying on a cliff where they were facing the way that they would have to go. It didn't take long but Neji soon had a camp set up and Naruto was coming back from setting traps around the area.

"No fire." Naruto stated as Sakura looked up from the cooking pot that she had been getting ready.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Because we are being hunted." Naruto replied calmly "We go with cold rations tonight so we don't end up fighting against the enemy too soon."

Sakura frowned at this but accepted that Naruto was right and soon was preparing the cold rations and handing them out, which Shion turned her nose up at, saying how they were not fit to eat. This almos led to an argument between her and Sakura when Naruto intervened, handing Shion a bento that he had in his pack.

"Here. You can have mine." Naruto replied as she opened it up to see that it held a variety of foods that were not very common in Oni no Kuni. Frowning she soon started eating while Naruto sat against a tree, his eyes closed, appearing asleep again since he had taken the last watch.

"This is good." Shion stated as she ate.

"Thanks." Naruto replied showing that he was still awake.

"Did you make it?" she asked and Sakura snorted back a laugh.

"That baka? He can't cook to save his life. He survived off of ramen for almost his entire life!" Sakura laughed.

"Due to not being able to afford anything else." Naruto replied "But no I didn't make that. Someone very dear to me did."

"Who might this most youthful person be?" Lee asked "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No." Naruto chuckled "Just someone that I've been close to for a few years now. She's really sweet and is family to me. She made that for me since she knew I would be working with Konahagakure."

"Why is that important?" Shion asked confused.

"We're at war." Neji answered "Yugure is posed to attack Konahagakure no Sato, but this issue with Moryo has created a cease fire."

"Really?" Taruho asked in surprise "You don't like each other but you band together in a crisis?"

"Not exactly." Naruto chuckled "Kitsune didn't want Hi no Kuni to fall for two reasons. First is that if they were to fall then the enemy would have unrestricted access to a lot of our allies and we would be spread too thin to handle that."

"And the second?" Shion asked.

"We don't intend to let someone else get to Konahagakure no Sato before we do." Naruto grinned.

"If you hate them so much, why work with them?" Shion continued.

"Greater good." Naruto answered "And I don't hate all of them. Just the majority of them. Like right now, there are two exceptions here with us."

Shion looked at the three Konahagakure shinobi and instantly figured that Sakura was the one that was exempt from his kindness. Deciding to ask him more later she turned and laid on the blanket that had been laid out for her while Neji started his watch. It was late in the night when Neji woke Naruto to take his half of the watch and the blonde nodded, sitting comfortably he entered the Kyubi Chakra Mode, letting his senses search out negative intentions and found nothing nearby. Creating two Kage Bushin he let them spread out and monitor the area while he sat on the cliff. It was a few hours later when Taruho approached.

"Naruto." he nodded as he sat next to the blonde.

"Taruho." Naruto nodded in return. They sat quietly for several minutes before Naruto spoke "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all." Taruho smiled.

"Why do you stay with Shion if one day she might predict your death?" Naruto replied.

"My family owes Lady Shion's family a great debt, and if my death would help make up that debt then I would die willingly." Taruho replied "But that is not the only reason." He then explained that he would remain due to the fact that everyone feared Shion's prophecies due the fact that they almost always involved someone dieing and they didn't want to end up dead by being around her. Naruto frowned at this and in the end nodded, feeling that he had a better understanding Shion. Soon the sun rose and the pair sat on the cliff staring at it. Hearing footsteps Naruto turned and saw Shion approach.

"Good morning." Naruto nodded to her. Shion nodded back before looking at Taruho and telling him to to go back. She seemed more determined this time and Taruho soon understood what had occured to make her change her mind.

"You've had a vision haven't you." he stated and the look on Shion's face confirmed it. Naruto sighed when he realized this and soon woke the others, telling them that they had to get moving. They were soon on their way, with Taruho saying that he was going to take an alternate route and meet them at the other temple. So the four shinobi and the priestess, being carried by Sakura again, were moving along several stone pillars in the middle of a river flowing between two cliff faces.

"This is crazy! There must be another way!" Shion exclaimed as they stopped.

"Lady Shion, this is probably the safest way." Neji replied "From what we saw yesterday, they do not use Suiton techniques and this way we will have an advantage over them."

"You jinxed us." Naruto sighed as they all turned and he pointed to a Suiryūdan no Jutsu(Water Dragon Bullet Technique) heading straight for them. Reacting quickly the four leapt up to the cliff and Neji was soon searching for the source of the technique that was still heading for them.

"This is unusual." Neji stated.

"Elaboration please." Naruto stated.

"I found the shinobi using the technique, but the odd thing is that she was using Katon yesterday." he explained.

"She alone?" Naruto asked.

"No, there is another one with her." Neji stated.

"Alright. Lee and I will go handle that while you and Sakura go and get Shion out of here." Naruto stated as Neji nodded his agreement and the two teens took off, heading towards the shinobi that were intent on stopping them. Lee soon split off and Naruto found the girl controlling the jutsu and with a smirk struck.

"Futon: Reppūshō(Gale Palm)!" Naruto shouted as he clapped his hands together and let the gale slam into his unsuspecting target, sending her flying and ending the water dragon's existence.

"Hmph. So you're back for another round you little shit. I'll be sure to end you this time!" she laughed as she started another jutsu "Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri(Rising Water Slicer)!"

Suddenly water smashed up from the ground and Naruto reacted by leaping up, reinforcing his legs with chakra so that le leapt several meters into the air where he was already beginning his counterattack.

"Futon: Shinkū Taigyoku(Vacuum Great Sphere)!" Naruto shouted as he fired the massive sphere of wind, and smirked as she leapt out of the way, but still was hit by the debris from the blast. Taking pursuit Naruto chased after her as she leapt from the trees, using a new technique to try and kill him. This one involved sending smaller jets of highly compressed water at the blonde who weaved around them with ease, before smirking as he drew Reijingu-fū and channeled his chakra into it causing the blade to let out a high pitch whistling sound that caused his opponent to pause for a moment. Swinging the blade at his opponent he smirked as she tried to use a jet of water to defend herself but was shocked when the wind blast cut straight through the attack and slashed her in two. Naruto muttered a curse when he saw that she had replaced herself with a Mizu Bushin and was now a little ways off, creating a massive sphere of water.

"I'll kill you with this one you little blonde bastard." she laughed.

"Go ahead and try." Naruto smirked as he sheathed his blade and began channeling more of his chakra for a final attack.

"DIE! Suiton: Suishū Gorugon(Water Gathering Gorgon)!" she shouted.

"Futon: Kamigami no hōkō(Roar of the Gods)!" Naruto shouted as he let out a roar that began to tear the area in front of him asunder. Chunks of earth went flying, uprooting trees and sending them crashing towards his opponent who realized that this blonde was above her own expectations in ability and after barely avoiding a tree crushing her she fled, seeing as how her jutsu had been destroyed with that technique. Naruto panted in exhaustion at this and ran his gaze over the area and winced at the destruction he had caused.

"Looks like Hao-sensei was right. That technique is really draining, no wonder it's S rank." Naruto panted as he stood up and went to find Lee. It didn't take him long to find the shinobi, and he was drunk.

"How the hell are you drunk right now?" Naruto grumbled as he carried Lee back towards the others.

"I'm not drunk, it was medicine in a special candy that Gai-sensei gave me!" Lee exclaimed.

"Yeah sure." Naruto nodded as they reached the others "Sorry for the wait. Those guys have some skill I will give them that, but Lee's opponent is dead and mine got scared off before I could finish her."

"Naruto." Neji began but before he could finish Naruto saw the body of Shion laying behind him.

"What happened?" Naruto growled as he glared at Neji and Sakura "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER!"

"There was nothing we could do..." Sakura muttered.

"WHAT?!" Naruto roared as he gave the pink haired girl a murderous look.

"That's enough." a voice from the tree line ordered. Blinking Naruto turned to see that it was Shion standing there. Doing a quick double take and making sure that he wasn't under a genjutsu he looked at Shion and asked "Ok, if you're still alive then who is that?"

"Taruho..." Sakura whispered "I couldn't save him."

Neji soon explained what had happened and how Taruho had used some strange jutsu to change his appearance to look like Shion to lure the enemy away from the priestess.

"We need to bury him." Naruto stated as Neji nodded his agreement.

"Don't bother. The fool died a pointless death." Shion stated.

"Is that what you really think?" Naruto asked "He just died to save you, and that is all you can say?!" Shion turned and stormed off, but Naruto wasn't done yet "He gave up everything for you, his hopes and dreams, his future, and all you can say is that he was a fool. Do you even care that he's dead?!"

"How could I not care... Now that someone so close to me is dead!" Shion shouted as she sobbed. Naruto frowned as she knelt in front of a tree, but he let his kinder nature take the lead and he walked over to her, crouching down and placing a hand on her sholder.

"If you really cared so much about him, then why'd you let that happen?" Naruto asked.

"If I hadn't, then I would have died. The foresight that the priestess has is her future self that has died coming back and showing her a way to avoid death, though it is usually by having a retainer take her place." Shion explained, choking back sobs. Naruto stayed with her for a while, letting her get her tears out before picking her up and carrying her piggy back to the others.

"So that's why your prophecies are always right." Naruto noted "They make them real."

"Yes."

"Then there might be a chance I can prove yours wrong." Naruto smiled "I am as my sensei put it "A being that upsets the natural order of things"."

"I don't think that will change this." Shion replied.

"Well how about I tell you a story, take your mind off of things." Naruto offered as they walked. He then told her a story of his life, leaving out names as he did, telling her of all the hardships that this boy had faced and how in the end he wouldn't give up, how he would do whatever it took to make sure that he succeeded, even after he had lost everything that he had once known.

"So you see, just because things look bad, doesn't mean that we give up. We find another way to win." Naruto explained as they finally returned to the others while Shion was staring at Naruto in a different light. Neji and the others had been busy, having gathered dozens of stones to make a makeshift tomb for the fallen friend. It was dusk by the time that they had finished and they were soon discussing what to do next.

"We can't take much longer. The Ghost Army must be reaching Hi no Kuni by now." Naruto noted.

"Yes. One of us must take Shion and go on ahead while the others handle the three remaining nin that are hunting us." Neji nodded.

"Then I shall go!" Lee exclaimed.

"No." Naruto stated "I will."

"But the prophecy!" Lee stated.

"Let him go, it might come true." Sakura smirked.

"If it does or doesn't isn't important. It all comes down to this, a final rush. I'm the strongest one of us here, so it makes sense that I take Shion and go on ahead. You three handle the nin and meet up with me there when you can." Naruto replied.

"Very well." Neji nodded "Be cautious. Hinata would be heart broken if you died."

"Don't I know it. She'd find a way to bring me back just so she could beat me to death." Naruto laughed as he picked Shion up and started leaping away.

"You really don't like Sakura." Shion pointed out.

"Nope. We have a history together and to put it simply if she were to die fighting those nin, I would probably thank them." Naruto replied.

"Why don't you like her so much?"

"She betrayed me in one of the most hurtful ways. I doubt that I could ever forgive her." Naruto answered as he started picking up the pace and soon they were standing on a small overhang, looking at the temple's entrance. Outside of the temple were seveal hundred stone ovals that seemed to be there for some sort of cerimonial purpose. Naruto slowly walked down when one of the stones shook and the outer coating shattered, revealing a stone warrior. It took all of five seconds for the others to reveal themselves and Naruto realized that this was a trap.

"Crap." Naruto cursed as he dodged a slash from a stone warrior as he moved around, trying to keep Shion safe while trying to avoid getting hit himself. Soon they were backed up against a cliff and Naruto tried to dodge but felt Shion fall off his back, and down the cliff.

"Double crap!" Naruto shouted as he kicked one of the stone warriors, knocking it back as he leapt off the cliff, throwing a Hiraishin kunai towards Shion, and warping it to it just as it got close, grabbing her and then twisting so he landed back first into the water below. Once they were out of the water Shion was sitting against a tree while Naruto took off the coat and rubbed his back.

"I hate it when I back flop." Naruto muttered.

"Why'd you save me? If you had let me die you would have lived." Shion stated.

"Because I'm going to find a way to save both of us." Naruto replied.

"You can't. You have to die for this to succeed."

"Then I won't die."

"Then I will."

"I won't let you die either!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You can't. One of us has to die." Shion stated.

"I won't let it happen!" Naruto replied as he leaned in closer to her, their faces a small distance away, causing Shion to blush and look away.

"This is pointless." Shion sighed.

"Nothing is pointless, or written in stone." Naruto replied calmly as he shook some of the water out of his hair, turning at one point so his profile was to the moon with the water droplets around it, giving him a very mystifing look "Your destiny is what you make it. No one can tell you how to live your life and what is going to happen tomorrow. Only you can make those choices, not some special power that tells you what a possible future is." Naruto then put his coat back on, letting Shion see the sunburst on the back again "I was told that my dreams would never come true, that I would always be a failure. But here I am now, one of the strongest and most feared operatives of Yugure, and I don't intend to die before my dreams have come to pass."

"Do you promise. Promise to keep us both safe?" Shion asked.

"You have my word on it. And I never go back on my word." Naruto smiled as he knelt down for her to climb on. Soon they were back on the overhang outside of the temple and Naruto was prepared this time. Creating several hundred Kage Bushin he let them charge down, Rasengan's at the ready and let them start smashing the Ghost Army with their technique as Naruto made his way through with Shion. Once he dropped her off at the entrance he leapt back, drawing his blades and smirking as he began fighting the stone soldiers and buying Shion as much time as he could so she could handle Moryo before he revived. As Naruto fought the soldiers he started realizing that his clones were slowly dieing and that he was soon by himself, his back against the temple entrance.

"Well let's go out with a bang." Naruto grinned as he prepared to shift into his Kyubi mode.

"BIJUDAMA!" a voice roared as blast of pure destruction hit the army in front of him as Bee and Yugito dropped down in front of him.

"We got this boss." Yugito smiled as she looked at the enemy in front of her "And we brought some backup."

"RAIKIRI!" Kakashi shouted as he struck from the side with Hinata and several other Konaha nin, pushing the army towards the cliff.

"So don't wait, you're already late!" Bee laughed as he and Yugito headed for the army while Naruto turned and entered the temple to find Shion standing there.

"Did you do it?!" Naruto shouted as he made his way through the paths "Is it done?"

"Naruto..." Shion began "I should have died."

"What?" Naruto asked as suddenly Moryo appeared, his true body restored, looking like a massive multiple headed dragon. Naruto reacted by making dozens of Kage Bushin and trying to fight, and managed to stab the demon several times with his kunai but when he was knocked into the air he saw one of the tentacles coming to spear him in the chest. Before he could react though he was encased in a sphere of light that protected him from the attack. He landed and saw that Shion was now inside the demon, trying to destroy it with her.

"What did you do!" Naruto shouted as he charged forward, weaving around Moryo until he used hundreds of clones to grab his ankles as he went inside Moryo and grabed Shion, pulling her out.

"You stupid priestess!" Naruto shouted as they pulled her out "Open your eyes! Breathe! Can you see? Can you hear? What is your heart telling you? That it wants to die like this? You want to fade and disappear?!"

"But..."

"I can't hear you! Shion, say it in your own words!" Naruto shouted as they started to reach the apex of the pull from the clones.

"I don't want to die!" Shion shouted as they finally reached the apex.

"All right!" Naruto grinned as he held up a hand and Shion put one of hers over it, the bell floating in between them "Me, and all my comrades, don't want to lose anyone! If you don't like the hand that destiny has dealt you, fight for a better one!" In their hands, a super charged Rasengan was forming and Naruto could feel it's power "More! Release all your feelings!"

Just as the Rasengan was finished Moryo rose up from the lava, intent on stopping them, but Naruto just smirked.

"Too slow! Take this, Shion and my Super Chakra Rasengan!" Naruto roared as he and Shion went crashing down towards Moryo, ramming the Rasengan into the demon "I promised you didn't I? That I would change your destiny!"

As the technique hit the temple started collapsing, and Naruto realized that they had reactivated the volcano that the temple had been built on top of.

"Oh shit!" Naruto cursed as he grabbed Shion and started leaping onto the collapsing paths, making his escape to a safe distance before they got caught in the eruption. As dawn rose Naruto and Shion stood a safe distance away from the volcano watching as the magma still spurt forth.

"So what now? Your priestess days over?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"No. I realized that it was the evils of man's heart that created Moryo, so I will remain a priestess to protect the world against the next Moryo. And my power must be passed down to the next priestess. Would you like to help with that?" Shion asked with a smile on her face as she looked at the blonde. Now Naruto may not be the smartest person in the room most of the time, but his time abroad had taught him enough to understand what Shion was offering and he knew that his next words were going to determine what would happen to the rest of his love life, especially since Hinata was standing less then ten feet away, staring at the blonde to see what his answer was going to be.

"Uh well..." Naruto stammered, trying to find the right words to say before Hinata walked over.

"Chose your next words very carefully Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled in the terrifing way that women do when they are about to get very angry.

"And who is this Naruto? She seems to be a Konahagakure shinobi which I understand that you are enemies with." Shion remarked as she looked at Hinata with a smug grin.

"I almost feel sorry for him." Yugito chuckled as she saw Naruto's discomfort.

"I don't." Kakashi laughed "This is pure gold. I have to let Jiraya-sama know about this."

"Should we help him?" Temari asked "I feel kind of sorry for him."

"No, let him handle it. It would be troublesome to get involved in this." Shikamaru stated as Hinata and Shion continued to have their stare down.

"Ladies, let's discuss this somewhere more private where we can hopefully work this out where I won't get killed by one of you." Naruto offered as the two looked at him and finally nodded their agreement.

"Fine. Let's return to Oni no Kuni." Shion offered. Hinata nodded and quickly told Kakashi that she would be going with Naruto for a few days.

"I'll let Tsunade-sama know." Kakashi promised as Hinata went and picked up Shion. Naruto took the time to go over and thank Neji and Lee for their help with the mission.

"It was our pleasure Naruto." Neji nodded.

"Yosh! It was most wonderful to see you again my youthful friend!" Lee shouted.

"If you guys ever need me, just send Yugure a message, I'll get it from there." Naruto promised "Now if you will excuse me, I need to find a way to convince two women not to kill me."

With that Naruto, Hinata and Shion returned to Oni no Kuni, managing to arrive there by nightfall and were soon seated in Shion's quarters, sitting at at a table with a heavy silence on them.

"So Naruto-kun, I've spoken with Shion-san and she has explained the situation to me." Hianta began.

"And we have come to a decision." Shion nodded.

"Oh?" Naruto asked, feeling more worried now then he was earlier.

"Yes. we want you to decide." they said at the same time. Naruto mentally screamed in terror, realizing that there was no safe way out of this.

"Now that isn't exactly fair." Naruto started "I mean, I have been loyal to you Hinata-chan for some time and I know that we have something special. But Shion-chan and I have grown close over the past two days and she has been a good friend."

"So you're saying that you don't want to hurt either of us." Hinata stated as she and Shion looked at each other.

"Well yeah." Naruto nodded as the girls stood up and walked over to him, causing his pulse to skyrocket as they leaned down and both kissed his cheek.

"Told you." Hinata laughed as Naruto looked absolutely confused.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked.

"It's simple." Shion explained "Hinata told me enough where I understood that you and her were together, but also that since you were one of the last of the Uzumaki bloodline that you fall under the C.R.A., since it was made law across the whole Elemental Nations after the first Shinobi War."

"What now?" Naruto asked in complete confusion.

"Your family is from a deceased village that was destroyed during the second Shinobi War, and they were scattered, there are maybe a few dozen of your family left, and according to law that places you in the Clan Restoration Act since you do have a Kekkei Genkai." Hinata explained.

"I do?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes, your healing." Hinata replied "It's not all from the Kyubi, it's also from your family."

"Ok... This is kind of crazy." Naruto sighed.

"What's crazy is that I'm the only other girl that has fallen for you since Hinata." Shion remarked with a grin "I mean, what is wrong with these women? Naruto-kun is a catch."

"I know." Hinata smiled.

"Wow this is going to be weird." Naruto sighed as they both looked at him and they started to laugh. They soon went to sleep with Naruto and Hinata both having separate quarters and the next day they spent with each other, getting to know Shion and for her to know them. On the second day Hinata said farewell and left while Naruto sat with Shion to discuss something that had been bothering her.

"Yugure has been sending operatives to every nation, yet they haven't come here yet. Why is that?" Shion asked.

"In truth, we are focusing on the nations that have standing shinobi forces. Once that was settled we planned on branching out to the smaller nations and have them join us." Naruto explained.

"I see." Shion nodded.

"However if you wish to ally with us I can Hiraishin back to Kumogakure and get the paperwork for you." Naruto offered. Shion nodded her agreement and Naruto then set a kunai down on the table and disappeared in a flash of orange and then a few minutes later reappeared.

"How did you do that?' Shion asked.

"Hiraishin. One of my dad's trademark techniques." Naruto replied "I can home in on the symbol on it anywhere in the world. Problem is that it is a massive drain on my chakra the farther I have to go. Keeping it localized helps to a degree but it is still a drain so I don't use it in combat very often."

"I see." Shion nodded as Naruto handed her the papers and she started reading over the papers and once finished called for a pen to be brought.

"There." Shion smiled as she handed him the signed papers.

"Ok. Now to tell you some things. First is that a representative will need to be sent to Kumogakure so that your country will have a voice in the different proceedings that we will be having. Second is that you are now privy to all of our plans and get the chance to offer any other changes to plans that have not already started. Finally you get detailed information about all of our operatives. And while I am not worried about this from you, I figured that I might as well say this. If anyone tries to give information to anyone that isn't a member of Yugure the seals that on these papers will light up and give me enough time to work out if this was done by a single official or if it was the entire country playing us." Naruto explained.

"What would happen if the country double crossed you?" Shion asked.

"We would end them." Naruto stated "The plans have moved too far along now to let someone try and trick us in hopes of a better deal from our enemies."

"I see." Shion nodded "So when will I get all of these things, plus the details mentioned in the contract?"

"The plans will be given to your representative who will relay that information to you, same for the classified documents. As for the other parts, I will go through our available operatives and see who I can assign here for shinobi training. The airships are almost finished, I will be heading for Haru no Kuni in a few weeks to finalize things there with those and make sure that the test flight goes well. Finally for the matter of trade, move through other countries since Hi no Kuni is off limits now." Naruto answered.

"Very well." Shion nodded as she stood up and walked out, going to talk to some of the chancellors that she had and after a few moments she returned with a very pale man with wire rimmed glasses and jet black hair "Naruto, this is Iba one of my most trusted aides. He will remain here and manage the affairs of Oni no Kuni while I accompany you to Kaminari no Kuni to oversee matters there."

Naruto blinked at this but in the end smiled at her decision and nodded his assent "Very well then. We will leave tomorrow and Hiraishin there."

"Very good." Shion nodded as she nodded to Iba that he was dismissed. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and the next morning Naruto held Shion in his arms as he Hiraishined back to Kumogakure where he took her to the meeting room and handed her several documents that pretained to Yugure. As Shion read over them she stopped at the list of members and blinked before looking at him.

"You are the leader?!"

"Yeah. It's why we use codenames, to trick those that don't have access to our information. People think that Kitsune and I are two different people and I do my best to keep it that way." Naruto replied. Shion simply smiled and shook her head as she continued looking over the documents and slowly began intergrating into Yugure.


	9. A Weasel, A Shark, And A Snake

_AN: Hello again everyone. Now all I have to say about this chapter is that even the first draft that I wrote for this chapter I felt that it was shaky at best. Even this one feels like it's missing something to me. But maybe I'm just being critical of it, let me know what you think at the end as always. Now for the reviews._

_Rose Tiger: Sorry, couldn't think of anything else and I hate just sitting at the ending of a chapter. So i went with the biggest Naruto cliche in the book. Sorry._

_wacko12: There might be. I try not to use OC's very much since I feel that they take away from the point of the story, but I might add some in, who knows._

_Charuso-san: What exactly was the problem? If it's the harem I gave fair warning in advance and let the readers place their votes before I wrote it. If it's the CRA, then read the reply to Rose Tiger._

_Chewie Cookies: Thank you, and again, what is with everyone hating on the CRA? I mean I know that it is overdone to all hell, but still I feel like I'm getting hate just because I couldn't think of what do for that freaking ending._

_DarkerThanB1ack: Thank you for that, I wasn't sure how people would react to adding Shion in. Glad to know that people do approve._

_firetemplar415: Well you'll just have to keep reading to find out what happens next._

_XxL0V3islik3aR0S3xX: Yes it means that they are sharing._

_OK now then let's get on to the real reason all of you are here._

A Weasel, A Shark, And A Snake

Naruto was sitting atop of the Raikage Tower as he had just finished a meeting with the other representatives and finalized several trade agreements along with a few other matters. As he leaned back he saw a crow flying towards him with a note tied to it's leg. Frowning he stood up and let the bird land on his arm and he untied the letter before the bird flew off.

"To the members of Yugure,

At this time my partner and I are in need of a meeting between ourselves and Kitsune. We are currently in hiding in Hi no Kuni, somewhere only an Uchiha would know of. I trust that you will be able to locate us in due haste. I request that you hurry as it has come to our attention that Konahagakure will soon be tipped off to our presence and that we will be hunted down and possibly killed. Again, please meet with us in all due haste.

Signed,

Itachi Uchiha"

Naruto frowned at this note and in the end decided that it would be best to meet up with them as soon as possible. Heading into the tower he informed A that he would be going abroad to find two possible recruits. While A was dubious about this mission he knew that Naruto would not back down on this matter. With all the arrangements made Naruto donned his mask and was soon Hiraishining to Hi no Kuni to begin his search for Itachi and Kisame.

In Konahagakure Sasuke had just been told by Danzo that Itachi was currently hiding out somewhere in Hi no Kuni. Now the Uchiha was demanding his chance to go and find his brother and kill him. Tsunade didn't approve of this but she knew that it would be best if Sasuke was out of her way for a time while she worked on more possible plans to handle an invasion by Yugure.

"Very well Sasuke. You may take a team of three other shinobi with you and hunt down Itachi." Tsunade sighed.

"I'll take Kakashi, Sakura and Hinata." Sasuke stated smugly.

"I can approve the first two, however Hinata has other duties that are more important then helping you hunt down your brother. If you want a Hyuga I will send Neji with you." Tsunade remarked.

"No. I will only take Hinata." Sasuke replied. Tsunade sighed in exhaustion as she knew that this was going to lead to an arguement with him, and while she could tell him that her authority overruled his personal quest for vengence she knew that he would go crying to Danzo and the Elders and then they would use their combined authority to overrule hers and then send Hinata with him.

"Very well. I will allow Hinata to accompany you, however it has to be her choice in the matter." Tsunade stated "I will not order her to do it and if she says no then that is the end of that matter and you will have to choose someone else."

Hinata then emerged from the shadows and removed her mask and looked at Tsunade.

"You know that he will just go over your head if I decide not to go with, so to save us all some time on the matter I will go with him, but if you try anything Sasuke, I will jyuken you into a coma." Hinata warned as Sasuke only smirked before walking out.

"This is going to be troublesome." Tsunade sighed.

"I know. However we might get lucky and Itachi will kill Sasuke and Sakura." Hinata smiled at the thought, earning a chuckle from Tsunade. Soon the girl met up with the other three shinobi at the gates where Sasuke made it perfectly clear that he was going to deal with Itachi himself, and that no one else would lay a finger on him. Hinata and Kakashi just traded looks before following the raven haired teen and his pink haired banshee.

Kitsune frowned in thought as he realized that there was going to be quite a large area to search and while he had a vague idea where to begin he wasn't quite sure where he was supposed to be going and searching aimlessly would be bad. As he moved he paused when he heard people moving through the trees across from him and stopped to see who it was and smirked when he saw Sasuke's team going by. Getting an idea he started following them, keeping a safe distance away as they went so he wouldn't be noticed while he saw that they already had a destination set. Once Kitsune figured out where they were heading Kitsune took off at a greater speed then them, managing to arrive a good ten minutes before them. It took him a few moments to make his way through the halls and find Itachi and Kisame in what would be called a throne room.

"So you did come." Itachi nodded as he looked at him "Thank you Kitsune-san."

"I'm willing to hear your request, but you might want to make it short. Sasuke and his team are almost here." Kitsune remarked.

"To be frank then, we have been sold out." Itachi replied calmly "Leader-sama seems to think that Kisame and I have been comprimised and decided to end us. He let slip where we were to Danzo and now he intends to see us killed."

"By having Sasuke do it? Sorry but that doesn't seem very likely." Kitsune chuckled "But since the Akatsuki have abandoned you, you now seek to join Yugure?"

"Yes." Itachi nodded.

"What about you fish face?" Kitsune asked Kisame.

"I'm with Itachi on this one. Besides, Leader-sama isn't the real mastermind behind this whole thing. The real man in charge... well you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Kisame began.

"Try me."

"It's Madara Uchiha." Kisame stated while Kitsune tilted his head in confusion.

"Madara Uchiha. Shouldn't he be dead?"

"Somehow he has survived the years." Itachi stated "Will you allow us to join?"

"I'm going to have to have your thoughts searched and make sure that you guys haven't been tampered with and aren't being sent by the Akatsuki to infiltrate us." he warned "But if everything checks out then yes, you may join us."

"Fine with me." Kisame nodded.

"Agreed." Itachi stated.

"Good. Now we have four enemies heading our way, two definetly a threat. So Itachi, consider this a welcome gift." Kitsune stated as he took a scroll out of his pouch and opened it to reveal four symbols, for Fire, Lightning, Earth and Water. Placing his hand over the Fire symbol he unsealed a sword similar to his Reijingu-fū.

"This is Shōkyaku mōka(Incinerating Inferno), I have been keeping it off to the side for the day that you would be joining us." Kitsune stated as he handed Itachi the blade "It will enhance your own natural Katon abilities, plus will cancel out any wind and lightning abilities."

Itachi took the blade and looked at it with interest before they heard the doors smash open and Sasuke and his team were standing there.

"I finally found you Itachi." Sasuke stated "I've done what you asked, I've let my hatred grow until I am now ready to kill you."

"It is a shame little brother that your hatred is all that has grown." Itachi stated "You failed to achieve the eyes I told you to gain before you faced me again, you failed to kill your best friend."

"That bastard doesn't have any friends." Kitsune remarked "He drove off anyone that might have become that."

"Kitsune-san? Why are you here?" Hinata asked.

"For these two." he replied "So I am afraid that I must rob you of your prize Sasuke, as I have need for Itachi alive."

"I won't let you." Sasuke growled as he flashed through hand signs "Chidori!" Sasuke charged forward, intent on stabbing the fist through Kitsune who only twisted to avoid the thrust and wrapped his own fist in wind before smashing it into Sasuke's side, sending him flying across the width of the room into the wall.

"Damn." Kisame whistled "That was viscious."

"I don't hold back on fools." Kitsune replied as he heard Sakura charging him "Kisame-san, feel free to put her in her place."

Kisame only grinned as he swung Samehada into Sakura and sent her flying right back out the door and into the hall as Kakashi and Hinata watched in shock as Kisame followed the pink haired girl out to continue her beating. Itachi was focusing on Sasuke while Kitsune looked at Kakashi and Hinata who were still standing there, neither of them moving to help their teammates.

"Staying out of this?" he asked.

"Yes. It would be better to not get involved when we'd be outclassed." Kakashi replied.

"Besides I would like to see them both die right here." Hinata remarked.

"I can understand that." Kitsune nodded calmly "But they aren't allowed to die yet."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked with a frown.

"I mean that I promised their heads to another." Kitsune replied.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Got it in one." he nodded "He is still rather bitter about it and I agreed that should the chance arise he would be the one to kill them. He seems to bear a greater hatred for Sakura then Sasuke though."

"After what that pink haired bitch did to him, I don't blame him." Hinata stated with a cold fury that only a woman can muster.

"Though he did mention that if you want to Hinata you can take her life. But Sasuke is to be left to him for now until otherwise stated."

"Did he now?" Kakashi asked with an eye frown "I didn't realize Naruto had gotten so blood thirsty."

"He grew up." Kitsune shrugged as he glanced over his sholder and saw that Sasuke had tried to use his Chidori through his blade, but Itachi's new sword was cancelling out the electricty while Itachi simply spoke calmly to his younger brother and egged him further and further towards a stupid mistake and leaving an opening for him to exploit. Kitsune then walked out the room to see that Kisame had already defeated Sakura and was now dragging her unconscious body back, throwing it through the room and hitting Sasuke with it, distracting him at a pivotal moment where Itachi trapped him in a genjutsu while walking away towards Kitsune and Kisame.

"Nice one." Kisame chuckled "What illusion?"

"He thinks he is still fighting me, and that he managed to dodge my follow up attack. I used it so seemlessly that he is none the wiser." Itachi replied "I heard enough for you to know that you want him alive for now."

"Yep." Kitsune nodded as the pair stood next to him. Kitsune then turned his gaze to Kakashi and Hinata who were looking at Sasuke just laying there in a daze with Sakura behind him "Care to join us?" Kitsune asked.

"No. We need to get them back to the village." Kakashi sighed as he started to walk towards them.

"That's fine. It seemed like now was a good chance to offer and for you to leave behind that sore you call a village." Kitsune shrugged.

"We appreciate the offer and the concern Kitsune-san, however we cannot abandon the village so simply." Hinata sighed "As much as I want to some days I know that Naruto-kun would think less of me for breaking the vows that I have made to the village."

"I doubt it." Kitsune chuckled "Naruto thinks the world of you, and if leaving the village was something that you wanted then he would understand and support you."

"And how do you know?" Hinata asked.

"I have worked with Naruto for many years now. I have nothing but respect for him, and his abilities. He has nothing but kind words about you, and I know that he would forgive you for almost anything." Kitsune shrugged "But again, do what you think is best."

"Thank you Kitsune-san. Tell Naruto-kun that I love him, and I hope to see him soon." Hinata nodded as she walked towards Sasuke to help snap him out of the genjutsu "You'd better leave before they awaken."

"Planned on it." Kitsune nodded as he grabbed both Itachi and Kisame and Hiraishined back to Kumogakure. Once they arrived there Kitsune callled for a team of mind walkers, similar to the Yamanaka Clan, to come in and search their minds. It took almost an hour for them to search through the memories and make sure that they were not plants or a threat to them before they were allowed into the main part of Yugure where several people nodded at the two who had both taken off the Akatsuki robes.

"Welcome to Yugure." Kitsune nodded as he led them to the central meeting room where A was with Roshi and Gaara "Gentlemen, our new recruits."

Gaara blinked at this before nodding and motioning for them to enter. Roshi stared at both of them for several seconds before he to nodded his assent and trusted that the blonde had followed the neccessary safety precautions. A simply glared at them for a moment before Kitsune walked around to the head of the table and took off his mask and shocked the two.

"Well I'll be the son of a whore!" Kisame exclaimed "It's been that blonde gaki that's been driving us off the deep end."

"Aren't you the son of a whore?" Naruto asked innocently, earning a laugh from Roshi and A while Gaara and Itachi both smirked and shook their heads as Kisame fumed angrily.

"This explains why the Akatsuki were having such a hard time dealing with you. We could never get a full grasp of your numbers or your Jinchuruki situation. It was to the point where Leader was considering invading himself." Itachi noted.

"Would have been a blood bath." Naruto stated calmly as he sat down "He may be stronger then us individually, but in the end we have him beat with numbers and general ability."

"I am sure that you do, but the power of the Rinnegan is not to be underestimated." Itachi noted.

"Trust me, we have every free shinobi looking into it." Roshi nodded "We know that we will have to face him sooner or later and thus have been doing as much research into the powers of the Rinnegan that we can do, but the biggest problem is seperating fact from fiction."

"Then we might be of some assistance. We were rather high ranked and did deal with the Leader far more often then most of the others, particularly me." Kisame explained.

"Excellent." A grinned as he motioned for them to come up to the table and examine their findings. The meeting continued for several hours while they went over all the different details that Itachi and Kisame knew and most of their information filled in some gaps that Naruto had in his general information that he had gathered. Once they were finished Naruto took them on a tour of the village, showing them various places. It was during this tour that Itachi brough up Konaha.

"What do you plan on doing about Konahagakure?" Itachi asked.

"It's all part of the plan. We are coming to a close on the opening moves." Naruto explained "The next stage of the plan is going to be beginning soon."

"Which is what?" Kisame asked.

"Phase 1 was gathering the nations behind us and preping our forces. The last bits we need to have finished are to recruit the last Jinchuruki and finalize various agreements with other nations, then we begin Phase 2. Phase 2 is going to be short and decisive. It's going to be a show of force that will knock any of the neutrals out of their position. This will lead to Phase 3, where we will then begin the assault on the nations that stand against us, or are on the list for elimination." Naruto explained as they walked.

"Such as Konaha." Itachi nodded.

"Yes." Naruto replied calmly.

"What about the people of the village?"

"Most will die." Naruto shrugged "When we strike they will not see it coming and any that don't flee quickly will be killed. We have certain targets that we will be acquiring as we go, and certain persons that will be captured, or rescured depending on the situation."

"Such as?" Kisame asked.

"Well for Itachi-san we will have to make sure to save his girlfriend Ayame-nii-chan." Naruto chuckled as Itachi turned a bright shade of red as he tried to come up with an answer while Kisame started laughing.

"So you were dating a civilian!" he roared.

"How did you know Naruto?" Itachi asked.

"I practically lived off of Ichiraku Ramen. I was over to their home several different times, and I saw the photo of you in Ayame-nii-chan's room." Naruto explained "Besides, I wouldn't leave her and Teuchi-jiji behind."

"You are a hard one to read." Kisame noted "One minute you're hard as iron, the next your a total softie."

"Makes me hard to predict." Naruto chuckled as he continued the tour.

When Sasuke returned to Konaha he immiedatly demanded that they invade Kumogakure and take Itachi from Yugure. This was quickly shot down by both Tsunade and Danzo, as neither of them wanted to poke the sleeping dragon with a stick at this time. Sasuke ranted and raved for a time before Danzo had Root escort him back to his home while he spoke with Tsunade.

"And now Yugure has acquired the Sharingan themselves." Danzo stated.

"I'm more worried about the fact that have a former Konaha ANBU at their disposal now. Not all that much has changed since Itachi worked for ANBU." Tsunade replied.

"That is why I have Root." Danzo nodded "Now that it has become apparent that we will need them more then ever."

"Maybe so, but things are starting to get worse." Tsunade stated as she handed him a report "Kiba just brought this back in. Apparently Orochimaru has noticed the going ons and is trying to get Yugure to allow him to join them."

Danzo paled slightly at the thought of this but decided to try and play it down "It is unlikely that they will let him join."

"I agree, but they might and just use him against us." Tsunade argued "And Jiraya is still looking into more about what's going on in Ame, so if Orochimaru decides to attack us in order to prove that he is worthy of joining Yugure, we could be in for a bloodbath."

"Perhaps. But there is still this. Yugure has made it clear that they do not want anyone other then them taking their prizes, seeing as how they have aided us during the Moryo crisis. Perhaps if Orochimaru gets to noisy they will silence him." Danzo theorized.

"Or they might let him finish us off before striking themselves, saving their own troops for a later fight." Tsunade argued.

"Either way, there is not much we can do about it." Danzo replied "I have my Root Agents on high alert and will monitor the situation for the time being."

"Good. For now I will be devising new battle plans. We will need something new for when Yugure strikes." Tsunade nodded as the old war hawk walked off and Hinata then emerged from the shadows.

"Yugure has us by the short hairs." Hinata noted.

"You don't need to remind me." Tsunade groaned as she grabbed a bottle of sake "Anything you'd like to give to the report that should be kept quiet?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded "Naruto doesn't want Sasuke and Sakura dieing just yet, he wants to kill them himself, though according to Kitsune he will let me kill Sakura if I want."

"I see." Tsunade sighed "This is getting complicated fast. Naruto is too hard to read now and I am not certain what he will and will not do."

"I know. Another thing, Kitsune offered to let me and Kakashi leave and join them right then and there." Hinata explained. Tsunade blinked at this and looked at Hinata, surprised that the girl was still here.

"And you didn't?" Tsunade asked.

"I was tempted. Sorely so. But in the end I can't go back on my word. Naruto may be with Yugure, and I trust that his actions are for the best." Hinata replied.

"I see." Tsunade sighed "Hinata, if you ever do decide to go to Yugure, all I want you to do is come and tell me and I will craft the best lie to hide you possible."

Hinata smiled at this and nodded her thanks before heading back to her apartment. From the shadows a person smirked and soon was writing a note for the blonde leader of Yugure. Naruto groaned as he went through the stacks of papers, looking over all the different notes that had been coming in and was starting to realize why the Sandaime Hokage had done so little, this paperwork never ended!

"Dammit I'm a shinobi, not a paper pusher." Naruto complained.

"Not much of a difference once you reach the level where you can start making changes." A laughed as he walked in "One of your operatives from Konahagakure sent this, and we got a missive from Oto no Kuni."

"Finally." Naruto sighed "I was wondering when Orochimaru would start to raise his head."

"You were expecting this?" A asked.

"Yeah. Orochimaru is a lot of things, but one of them tends to be predictable to a degree. If someone wants to destroy Konaha he will likely show up or have some ties to that person, persons, or group. Odds are that he wants an alliance so he get in close and then try to take our most skilled shinobi for himself and then use them for new bodies when the three years in whatever poor wretch he's riding around in expires." Naruto explained as he stood up and grabbed his mask before grabbing the two rolls of paper, glancing over the one from Oto no Kuni before nodding his head at the information on there. He then turned his gaze over to the note from Konaha and nodded his head at what he saw there.

"Everything is going according to plan." Naruto smiled.

"Everything?" A asked.

"Well all of the major parts of my plan." Naruto amended "I'll go to this meeting with the snake and then I'll be heading for Haru no Kuni."

"The ships finally finished?" A asked.

"Almost. I just want to be there when they finish the test flight and plus there was that side project that I had them working on for me." Naruto stated as he walked out, donning the mask. Hours later Kitsune stood on top of a large hill with a forest surrounding the area but far enough off so as to leave a large clearing. It didn't take long for Orochimaru to arrive, appearing by himself with his creepy smirk on his face.

"At last we meet." Orochimaru smiled.

"I recieved your missive" Kitsune stated "I won't bother introducing myself since I already know that you know who I am. So tell me, what do you want?"

"Straight to the point? Fine. I wish to work with you and Yugure for our mutual beneficial goal of destroying Konahagakure no Sato." Orochimaru offered.

"No." Kitsune stated calmly "We do not wish your assistance in the matter, seeing as how things are already moving in the direction that we want them."

"Such a quick answer." Orochimaru chuckled "And you are quite certain that you would not want one of the Sannin on your side?"

"I have the stronger of the two Uchiha brothers on my side, eight of the nine Biju, almost every country in the world, and a man who is claimed to be a god by many nations. I do not need the reputation or the horrific skills of you, Orochimaru, you who created a village just to experiment on them and become the strongest shinobi ever known." Orochimaru blinked at Kitsune's cold statement but before he could say anything Kitsune continued talking "But no matter how many lives it is that you live, in the end you will be nothing more then a pale shadow that can do nothing more then just lay on the floor, talk of secret plots and plans but in the end you are nothing. We will see your petty village burn as well Orochimaru, traitor and deciever. When we are finished with you and yours the world will be a safer place by far."

Orochimaru simply glared at the blonde and then struck, drawing Kusanagi and stabbing the masked blonde who disappeared in a puff of smoke. Orochimaru searched around for the blonde but found nothing of him, but could hear a voice from somewhere speak.

"Let this be a fair warning Orochimaru. If you attempt to attack our allies we will kill you. If you attempt to destroy Konaha before us, we will kill you. If you attempt to disrupt our plans, we will use all of our strength to counteract all of yours. You are trapped Orochimaru, you gaze too long fixed on your own ambitions to see that the world has changed and that a new era has begun. You are a relic of the past, one that shall be destroyed so that the new age may begin. Good bye Orochimaru, until we meet upon the field of battle." Kitsune stated as he went silent, leaving Orochimaru standing there in an angry silence.

_"That damn fool. Thinking that he can scare me! I will destroy him and his petty organization. He will regret trying me so." Orochimaru vowed as he stromed off._


	10. To The Skies

_AN: Hello again everyone. First the reviews then some quick notes._

_Rose Tiger: Ok, while I may disagree with that as I have seen examples of it many times I will accept everyone's opinion on the matter. And thank you for the compliment._

_3ch0: Ok, another flamer has entered the story. Look, if you don't like it don't read it. I just accepted a challenge for this one so suck it up. Second, me and computers don't get along. I have no idea how to do that so I won't bother trying something that could possibly damage it. Now if you want to leave another hateful message, go elsewhere._

_Eh: I will do that, but I feel that even if people don't like the CRA they should be able to look past it to see the story itself. It's not like I have a massive harem that takes up most of the chapters. Anyways I hope that you continue reading despite that._

_firetemplar415: Glad you approve. I really enjoy writing them personally._

_Chewie Cookies: Next chapter I will add some in since you asked so nicely (Planned to do so anyways ^_^)_

_SilverFlameHaze: No it isn't. If you are basing that on the first chapter then you need to read further, and if there is something wrong please explain to me what so I can work on fixing it in later works._

_CelestialxXxAngel: Ok, that was the shout out that you all missed. I'll explain it after the reviews._

_dbtiger63: Shibuki's comment wasn't supposed to be about vertical height. What he meant was he expected him to be as ripped as A. Naruto is tall and he does have a fair amount of muscle, he is not ripped like A is. The rumors about this mysterious leader make him seem like an 8' giant with muscles the size of boulders, as rumors tend to do. Sorry that I didn't make that clear._

_Veraozao: Don't let the gf find out. She might kill me..._

_Wyrtha: Glad you liked Hidan's death, I had to think carefully on that one. As for the war council, well Tsunade was kind of aggravated that she didn't join her in stopping them, and you can't really blame her on that one. Plus at the moment Kiri is the weakest of the five since they are still suffering from the after effects of the Yondaime Mizukage's rule. Finally what makes you think Orochimaru came alone? I agree that he isn't stupid enough to come alone to a meeting like that, and so it may be noted for the record he did have support hidden nearby, but far enough back for it to seem legit.  
_

_OK then, now that that is finished some quick things. First is that I have officially caught up to what I had originally written. Granted I have made quite a few changes to this because of that, nothing major of course but it is far better in my opinion. So from here on out things will be a little shaky at times because I have to make sure that everything is falling into the correct places. Second, I might be a little slow with updating since I do work a ton and I also have this story, three others with a possible fourth coming along, so please be patient with me. Alright folks read on and leave your reviews._

To The Skies

Naruto smiled as he walked through the halls of Haru no Kuni. It had been some time since he had last been here, to show A the test flight of their prototype, but now he was here to see the finished product.

"Naruto-kun!" Koyuki exclaimed when she saw the blonde approach.

"Koyuki-chan." Naruto smiled as he gave her a hug "It's good to see you again."

"Same Naruto-kun. I guess you're here about the airships?"

"Yeah. Some of our allies are getting rather antsy about them." Naruto replied as they started to walk.

"Well we are almost finished with them. That power source you gave us really helped speed up the process." Koyuki noted.

"Yeah, the Stone of Gelel is really useful. Any progress on that side project?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. We managed to get it to work. You can try it out tomorrow when we finish the last of the work." Koyuki answered.

"Great." Naruto nodded "Might as well stay here then. No point in wasting the chakra."

"Great!" Koyuki exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the village.

Late that night in Kumogakure, the silent village was awoken by explosions. A was soon out amongst the people, directing them and getting the villagers to safety.

"What is going on?!" he shouted to a jonin nearby.

"We don't know. We're being attacked from above." he replied.

"Dammit." A swore as he managed to get the last of the civillians into the shelters and the shinobi tried to find the threat. Suddenly the explosions ceased hitting the village, instead falling upon some sort of barrier that had been created above them.

"It appears that I returned just in time." a man said as he lowered himself from the sky.

"Hao-sama." A nodded "What happened? How were we being attacked?"

"It appears that an old nation has decided to revive itself. They were simply using you as a test subject before moving on to their true enemy." Hao replied.

"Sora no Kuni." A cursed "I thought that they were eradicated."

"Not all of them. They have been regaining their numbers and preparing to take revenge on the one that caused their destruction. This was merely a test run, to make sure that their plan would work." Hao shrugged before running his gaze over the shinobi "I see that Naruto isn't here. Which means that Haru no Kuni has just about finished them."

"Yeah." A nodded.

"Excellent. Naruto will want to test them out, and Sora no Kuni has just volunteered themselves." Hao smiled as he walked towards the Raikage tower. A only chuckled at this as he followed Hao to the tower.

Two days later Konahagakure no Sato was laid to seige, just as Kumogakure was. The attack was swift and deadly, with the shinobi of Sora no Kuni targetting the important areas of the village.

"Hokage-sama!" an ANBU shouted as they entered the tower.

"I know." Tsunade stated as she stared at the flying shinobi "Protect the civilians and noncombatants. Those with long range ninjutsu start taking down those nin."

The ANBU nodded and proceeded to inform the shinobi of the Hokage's orders. Tsunade had Shikamaru and Shikaku with her soon and they were trying to find a way to counter the shinobi.

"This isn't looking good." Shikamaru stated "They are to mobile for our long range attacks to do anything useful."

"And the carriers are too far off for us to deal with." Shikaku added "Now without leaving the village for them to ravage."

Tsunade groaned in frustration just as another ANBU entered.

"Hokage-sama! Something has appeared over us!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Tsunade asked as she went to the window and saw that there were three large vessels descending from the clouds. They were the size of large ships, with unusual cylinders on the bottom, emitting energy that kept them aloft. On the side of each one was a name, and a giant sunburst.

"Kami above..." Tsunade whispered in horror at the Yugure fleet.

"It's ok." a young voice from behind her stated causing Tsunade turned to see a young girl standing there "Kitsune is here to beat up Sora no Kuni."

"Who're you?" Shikamaru asked, already prepared to trap her.

"I'm Yuki Uzumaki Namikaze." she smiled "Naruto adopted me."

Tsunade's jaw dropped at this statement and Hinata who was in the shadows blinked in shock, but remembered a letter from Naruto saying that he had rescued a young girl and she had taken a liking to him.

"Kitsune is here for Sora no Kuni?" Tsunade asked.

"Yep. They attacked Kumogakure while he was away, so he's very mad at them." Yuki nodded "That's why he brought the main fleet to attack them."

Tsunade shook her head in shock at this and looked up at the ships that were still moving.

On board the flagship Kitsune stood, directing his forces.

"Have the Shoku(Eclipse) send out their fighters and start dealing with those flying pests. Tell the Inazuma(Lightning Bolt) to head out over the ocean and deal with carriers on the ocean." Kitsune ordered.

"And the Arashi?" a shinobi asked.

"Prepare the smaller crafts to take care of any straglers or those that try to get away. I want no survivors." Kitsune stated. The battle progressed quickly, with fighters being released and attacking the fighters, working in teams to overwhelm the Sora no Kuni shinobi, sending a barrage of exploive tag kunai into each fighter and letting them fall over the village and the surrounding area. Out over the ocean the Inazuma got over the fleet, and once they were hovering over the fleet the sphere opened revealing a crystal sphere inside of it that started glowing. It took only seconds before a focused blast of pure heat smashed through two of the carriers, destroying them and letting them sink.

"RETREAT!" the commander shouted, ordering the forces to try and get away from the wrath of Yugure.

"Sir, the enemy is beginning to retreat." a nin reported to Kitsune.

"Good. Deal with them." he nodded.

"Sir, our sensor nin are starting to pick up some unusual chakra readings." another nin reported. Kitsune frowned and walked over to the map where the nin quickly pointed out where it was coming from.

"Monitor it. If it doesn't stop growing inform me." he stated as he walked off "Now let me go pick up Yuki." With that he Hiraihined down to the Hokage tower where he found one of the most unusual scenes that he had come across yet. Yuki was sitting at Tsunade's desk playing cards with Tsunade who seemed to be losing.

"I should warn you, Yuki has the most luck I have ever seen." he stated as he walked over.

"I know. She's already won 800 ryo off of me." Tsunade sighed "No child should be this good."

"Naruto would agree." Kitsune nodded "She once henged herself to look like an adult and then cleaned out an entire casino."

Tsunade blinked at this and quickly folded and let Yuki take the small amount of money she had bet. Yuki smiled and then walked over to Kitsune.

"Thanks for playing with me Tsunade-baa-chan." Yuki smiled, causing Tsunade to feel both agitation and amusement about the child.

"Don't make me hurt you gaki." Tsunade stated before looking at Kitsune "So you got your revenge."

"That we did." Kitsune nodded "They chose to attack us, I simply made sure that they paid for it."

"And gave an impressive show of force while you were at it?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he replied as he placed a hand on Yuki's sholder "Now if you will excuse me, I need to make sure that we eliminate the remnants of Sora no Kuni." Kitsune then Hiraishined back up to the Arashi where Yuki went off to explore the ship some more while Kitsune went back over to the map to see that the chakra was still growing.

"Sir, this isn't looking good." the shinobi stated "It's getting larger by the minute, it's almost comparable to one of the Biju."

"I see..." he nodded "I'll go investigate this. Have a small party on standby just in case I need a pick up."

"Yes sir." the shinobi nodded as Kitsune walked off, removing his mask and heading for the bay doors. He soon stepped onto the one piece of technology that he had requested to be made and nodded to the shinobi to open the doors. Naruto felt his stomach drop as the doors opened up underneath him and he soon moved his left foot to the back of the board where he tapped the button and the board came to life. The board was powered just like the airships with a Stone of Gelel, though this one was a much smaller stone, meant to just give the board power. His right foot soon moved up to the bottons that controlled the boards movements, with one to control the forward thrust, and then one to control the upward thrust, so he could adjust his elevation. Naruto turned the board and was soon heading for the chakra source, arriving just as a massive fortress rose up out of the ground, reaching the skies.

"Damn..." Naruto whistled as he saw the fortress "This must be the legendary base of Sora no Kuni."

Naruto quickly made his way towards one of the openings and landed, opening a scroll and sealing the board inside of it before he started to walk, making his way through the fortress, avoiding detection by the Sora no Kuni shinobi as he did. Eventually he arrived at a massive throne room where a man was sitting with another person chained to the wall to Naruto's left. The man was elderly with long grey hair that flowed to his back and beard of a slightly darker grey. His eyes were yellow with the wrinkles under them, and they had an evil sadistic look to them. He wore a black shirt with a white gi with brown and blue edges over it, and a sleeveless red jacket with gold sidings over that, and simple blue pants. The other person had brown hair which was covered by a blue bandana, thick eyebrows, and blue eyes with a mole under her left eye. She wore a cyan-blue gi with a cream-coloured vest over it, blue shorts and dark colored arm and leg bands. She had obviously been crying and looked like she had been through hell and back.

"Who dares stand before the Sora no Tei(Sky Emperor)?" the man said in such a voice that Naruto wanted to punch him just for talking.

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, member of Yugure." Naruto stated.

"And so you think you can trespass in my fortress?" he asked with a sneer.

"I think that since you had Kumogakure attacked it lets me kick you asses however I damn well please." Naruto replied with a smirk "Care to explain why that person is chained to your wall."

"She is unimportant. Simply a battery to help fuel the power source." he snorted.

"Uh huh." Naruto nodded "Who're you miss?"

"A... Amaru..." she mumbled.

"BE SILENT!" the man roared.

"OI!" Naruto shouted, getting the man's attention "I don't believe I caught your name either."

"I am the Sora no Tei, I have no need to tell a meer worm my name. But since you are about to die, it won't hurt to let you know the name of the man that slayed you. I am Shinnō, and I will end your miserable life." Shinnō boasted as Naruto only shook his head at the classic villian mentality.

"Well then Shinnō, I'll be finishing the job we already started." Naruto replied as he moved closer "And I will be releasing Amaru while I'm at it."

"You think you can defy me? And what do you mean the job you already started?" Shinnō asked.

"Sora no Kuni's destruction. Already my fleet has decimated your carriers, and we are in the process of destroying every last one of your shinobi. By the time the sun sets your nation will sink back into the depths of history, never to be seen by living eyes again." Naruto explained as he stopped just in front of the throne "Now why don't you get off that throne and just die quietly."

"You arrogant little bastard." Shinnō cursed rising from the throne and glaring at Naruto "I will kill you myself!" Naruto could feel the Dark Chakra being used by the man and saw that he was changing. His hair and beard grew wild and much longer, as well as blackening in colour. His eyebrows became black and wildly thicker. His muscles greatly expanded, which caused his clothes on his upper body to burst, leaving him bare-chested, with only shreds of the sleeve around his wrists. Naruto could sense the power coming off of Shinnō and knew that things were going to get bad fast if he didn't react to this quickly. Before Naruto knew what had happened Shinnō was at his back and Naruto was backhanded across the width of the room, smashing into the wall.

"Ouch." Naruto grumbled as he stood up and shook off the debris "That hurt you son of a bitch."

"That is only the beginning!" Shinnō roared "With this power I can utilize the power of Hachimon(Eight Gates), using all eight of them without any drawbacks!"

"So I got the super powered crazy." Naruto remarked as he pulled himself out of the wall "Guess this means that I get to go all out today."

"You won't get the chance!" Shinnō shouted as he appeared in front of Naruto, grabbed him and threw him again. Naruto reacted in midair, taking a scroll out and unleashing the contents.

"Sen Kunai no Ame(Rain of a Thousand Kunai)!" Naruto shouted as he unsealed the scroll and a thousand kunai shot out all over the room. Shinnō only laughed as he sent a burst of dark chakra to send any kunai that went near him flying. Before he could move though Naruto appeared in front of him in a flash and had Geiru drawn.

"It's been a long time since I faced someone this strong. I hope you meet my expectations." Naruto stated as he struck "Uzu no Ken: Araumi(Whirlpool Sword: Riptide)!" Naruto struck, swinging the blade in a series of blows that forced Shinnō back until he was caught by the finishing blow that Naruto unleashed by slashing the man across the front, leaving a large gaping wound that was soon knitting itself closed.

"Pitiful. I am capable of healing practically any wound. I might as well be immortal!" Shinnō laughed. This caused Naruto to start laughing as he Hiraishined away and sheathed Geiru.

"Now that is funny." Naruto laughed "There is no such thing as an immortal. Everything can die, all you have to do is put forth the effort to reach that point."

Shinnō only sneered as he disappeared and tried to strike Naruto, but he Hiraishined away and struck from behind, but Shinnō dodged this. The fight continued like this for several minutes with both of them moving at speeds that no mortal should be able to reach. Soon Naruto stopped and gripped Geiru again.

"Uzu no Ken: Dai Uzu(Maelstrom)." Naruto stated as he struck, this time using the Hiraishin kunai to enhance the technique where the unleashed two slashes at least every time he appeared near Shinnō, who soon realized that having a strong healing ability didn't mean that he could keep up with the damage dealt to him. It wasn't long before Shinnō collapsed to the ground, barely alive from the damage that Naruto had dealt to him.

"I'll just let you lay there." Naruto stated as he walked over and drew Reijingu-fū and cut through the chains holding Amaru "You ok?"

"Y...Yeah..." Amaru nodded as she looked over at Shinnō "Is he dead?"

"No, but he probably wishes that he was." Naruto stated as he looked towards the entrance where a figure was now entering "And it appears that I'm not the only one who sensed the chakra."

"That's right." Sasuke stated as he walked in "Danzo knew about this fortress from the war, and when he realized that it was still functioning he sent me to claim it, so we can use it against Yugure."

"Well I can't let that happen." Naruto remarked as he let Sasuke walk closer "I mean we just got our fleet up and running, can't let you possess a weapon that could destroy it."

"Too bad." Sasuke smirked "I'll use this weapon to destroy you and Yugure, my brother and anyone that stands in my way."

Naruto only shook his head at this as he looked at Amaru who was staring at the two "Go ahead and get out of here. I'll catch up and get you somewhere safe."

Amaru nodded and ran off, heading down a side entrance and leaving the room just as Sasuke drew his blade and struck, channeling his Chidori down the blade as he swung it at Naruto. The blonde blocked the strike with Reijingu-fū and grinned as his other hand drew Geiru, bringing the blade up towards Sasuke who drew a kunai to block the second blade. The two stood in their deadlock for a few moments, staring at each other before breaking the deadlock and leaping back. Naruto grinned as he used the Hiraishin to disappear and reappear across the room, keeping up the flashes to disorient Sasuke, who's Sharingan couldn't follow the rapid movements. Naruto used this as an oppritunity to strike, slashing Sasuke across the side of his arm, making the cut deep enough to sever some tendons and make his left arm uesless.

"Looks like this is checkmate." Naruto stated with a smirk as he sheathed his blades "You aren't even in the same league as me."

"Why... why are you so much stronger?! I'm an Uchiha, an elite!"

"That's why I am stronger." Naruto replied as he walked towards a door at the back of the room "I'm stronger because I worked hard to be strong. Through my blood, sweat, and tears I have become stronger then you, and almost anyone that would oppose me. In the end Sasuke, you're still just a child that can't even stand up to a single shinobi."

Sasuke just roared in rage as he swung the chokuto at Naruto's back, but the blonde had been expecting that and Hiraishined out of the way, appearing behind Sasuke as he took the kunai and slashed the back of his legs, severing more tendons, letting Sasuke fall to the ground and flop like a fish as he tried to stand up.

"Now why don't you just lay there while I go deal with this fortress." Naruto stated as he entreed the doors and worked his way through the hallways until he finally reached the powersource and realized that his was a demon that had been trying to immitate the Biju.

"So this is the Reibi(Zero Tails)." Naruto mused as he took out a small scroll that was heavily sealed "Guess this merits the use of this Hao-sensei."

Naruto then unsealed the scroll and placed it next to the tablet that was holding the Reibi and started walking away. Once he was outside of the room he made a single hand sign and then started to run as he felt the rumbling begin as the scroll unleashed it's power. It didn't take long for him to catch up to Amaru who was standing near the same place Naruto had boarded.

"Hold on!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed her and jumped off of the fortress. Amaru screamed in fear as Naruto unsealed the board and activated it, taking off as quickly as he could from the fortress. Twisting in midair he turned and looked back at the fortress just as the scroll finished it's work and destroyed the fortress. Inside that scroll was a special demon destroyer that Hao had discovered several years ago and had given it to Naruto to deal with any demons that might be too dangerous to leave alone. The scroll targetted the demon's chakra and then converted it into pure kinetic energy and heat, creating the massive explosion that tore apart the fortress. As Naruto watched the explosion he saw Sasuke using his cursed seal wings fly out, charred but still alive.

"Good. It would be a shame if you had died so easily." Naruto nodded as he let Sasuke head back for the village. Turning Naruto flew off towards the Arashi where he could have Amaru looked over and make sure that she would be fine.

In Konaha Danzo was furious that not only had Sasuke been defeated so easily but that he had failed to even capture the fortress and in fact had let it be destroyed.

"Once you are finished healing Sasuke take him to the training grounds. I want him trained until he will be able to handle any of these Yugure scum." Danzo ordered.

"Yes sir." a ROOT shinobi nodded as they continued healing Sasuke's wounded body.

In the Hokage Tower Tsunade was going over the reports of how bad the damage was to the village and realized that in the end that Yugure's intervention had saved them from the worst of the damages but it had also shown that in the end Yugure had them clearly beat in terms of power, ability, and numbers. It was only a matter of time before things turned to the worst case scenario.

"Hinata." Tsunade sighed.

"Yes?" Hinata asked.

"Can you get into contact with Naruto?"

"Yes I can. Why?"

"We need to try and buy some time." Tsunade sighed "I need time to try and convince the councilors that we need to bring Naruto back and stop us from being destroyed."

"You know that it is unlikely that they will listen." Hinata noted.

"I know. But I have to try, for the good of the village." Tsunade answered "So will you talk to him?"

"I'll send word to him and let him know that you want to talk." Hinata nodded as she walked out of the shadows and went off to get the message ready "But you should know that I intend to tell him everything, including why you want to talk him."

"That's fine." Tsunade replied.

"But realize that he may say no." Hinata nodded as she walked out of the room.

In Kumogakure Naruto was finishing looking over the new reports that had come in from his allies about how they were well pleased with the airships. Trade was no longer a problem and things were looking up for their plans. Standing Naruto made his way to the medical area where he found Amaru sitting on her bed.

"How you feeling?" Naruto asked as he approached.

"Better... I just can't believe that Shinnō would betray me like that. He did so much for me..." Amaru sobbed. Naruto placed a hand on her sholder and let her get out the fresh batch of tears. It wasn't long before she stopped and Naruto managed to get the story out of her. Shinnō had healed her when she had been ill, had taken her as an apprentice, and had been her first real friend.

"I know that it hurts Amaru. But in the end you need to live up to the ideals that Shinnō had, not the man he turned out to be, but the man you thought he was, the kind man that took care of you and helped you. The man that taught you that it's better to help people then to hurt them. Live up to that man's ideals." Naruto explained with a smile as he talked to her. He sat with her for most of the day, talking and helping her work out her problems.

"Thanks..." Amaru nodded "I really appreciate it."

"Of course. If you like you can stay with Yugure. We can always use another medic." Naruto smiled as he stood up "Do what you think is best, and if you choose to stay with us then just let me know and we will get you situated here."

"Thank you." Amaru said as Naruto left. As he left a shinobi approached him, handing him an envelope. Frowning he looked it over and saw that it was from Hinata.

"Dear Naruto-kun,

Tsunade has asked me to write this letter because she wants to meet with you. She would like to see if it is possible to call a cease fire for a time so that she might be able to convince the councilors to let you come back and prevent the destruction of Konaha. I understand if you say no to this, and so does Tsunade. Please write back with you answer and if it is yes please inform us where you would like to meet.

With all my love,

Hinata"

Naruto frowned at this letter. He had been expecting something like this but he wasn't quite sure of what to do. He could just say no and let things go as they were, but there was something that he needed to get done and he had no idea how to go about it. In the end a temporary cease fire might help him, allowing him to focus on some of his other parts of the plan, since the second phase was now complete there would be a one month waiting period before they began the third phase and began putting countries to siege. Nodding to himself he decided to play on their lack of knowledge to his plans and agree to meet with them to discuss his terms.


	11. Students of the Toad

_AN: Hello again everyone. First allow me to apologize for such a long wait on this chapter. I had a bit of writers block on how to go about parts of this and in the end I am rather pleased at how it turned out. I also have had some rather unpleasant upheavals in my life lately, including losing my home. I am currently staying in a hotel for the time being and will do my best to update as regularly as I have been. Now enough about me, lets get on to the replies._

_NeroYagyuu: I am well pleased that you left so many reviews in such a short time. It's always nice to know that I have managed to gain another reader. I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint._

_Guest: The reason that Tsunade hasn't is because she is still trying to bring back Naruto, so he can one day take her place. Also after all the work that Naruto went through to get her back to the village she feels that she has to stay._

_firetemplar415: It was kind of random for the movie that they just showed up out of the blue. Besides I needed to have a good show of how dangerous Yugure would be with the airships before the invasions began._

_dbtiger63: I do agree about the whole Orochimaru being more dangerous then the Akatsuki, however Naruto has known about Orochimaru a lot longer and has made a ton of plans to deal with him if he were to attempt to sabotage their plans in any way. As for the whole Hinata thing, well just wait and see._

_Eh: I thank you for your understanding. But again, this is mainly an adventure story, the romance is kind of a side thing, so you won't be missing too much. Plus I don't plan on hitting the NC-17 since this site seems to have it out for the people that do like to toe that line._

_KHARAKI TAKAN: Ok, granted that is true for the canon. However this is fanfiction for a reason, meaning we can make alterations as we see fit. As should be pretty obvious it was Hinata's possible last chance to see Naruto, and when it is the last chance you have to make your mark you will likely take it. I know I did when I was younger._

_Alexander Reaper: I am glad that you enjoyed how I added in the movies, It was something that I planned very carefully. I honestly don't plan on adding any more of them, simply because I haven't seen the others and from what I have gathered most wouldn't be easily added in like these other ones._

_Alright, now here is the next chapter and this one is the longest so far. So enjoy._

Students of the Toad

There was a thick mist rolling in as Tsunade, Jiraiya and Hinata crossed the Great Naruto bridge and entered Nami no Kuni. Naruto had told them to meet him here at the end of the bridge, saying that he would be there at 9. As they crossed they stopped and waited a moment as the mist thickened. It wasn't long before they saw two figures coming towards them through the mist and it only took Hinata a moment to figure out who it was.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata called out to the taller of the two figures. Naruto laughed as he finally got close enough for them to see him properly and gave Hinata a hug.

"Great to see you too Hinata-chan." he laughed as he stepped back and Yuki moved in and hugged her too "This is Yuki, the little stray that got attached to me the last time I was here."

"So I heard." Hinata smiled.

"Still can't believe you have a kid." Tsunade sighed as she looked at Naruto "It's good to see you again."

"Same Baa-chan." Naruto nodded before looking at Jiraiya "Ero-sennin."

"Gaki." Jiraiya chuckled as he patted his sholder.

"Well come on, let's get something to eat." Naruto nodded as he motioned for them to follow him. He soon led them into town where several people shouted their greetings to the blonde who nodded to them and returned the greeting.

_"Naruto-kun is so liked here." Hinata thought as she looked at all of the happy people "He did so much for them, and when he tried to do this for Konaha he gets banished..."_

It wasn't long before Naruto took them into a restaurant and the owner nodded at him before flipping the closed sign. Naruto took them to a booth in the back, letting Yuki slip in first, then Naruto and Hinata on the same side while Jiraiya and Tsunade sat across from them.

"So shall we get straight to business?" Naruto asked.

"Might as well." Tsunade nodded "I was hoping you could convince Kitsune to give us some more time to meet the condition he set for not attacking us."

"I can give you a month, however there are some conditions." Naruto warned.

"What might those be?" Jiriaya asked.

"The first two conditions are if you manage to revoke the banishment. First the civillian council will be disbanded and the Elders will be moved back to an advisory position. This is to ensure that shinobi matters are settled by shinobi, not some power hungry non-combatants." Naruto started "Second, upon my return I am to be given the rank of jonin. The last condition must be met in order for me to confirm this delay. Senjutsu training."

Jiraiya sighed in relief at his conditions and Tsunade nodded as well.

"You'll understand if I don't inform the civillians and the elders about those first two conditions." Tsunade remarked.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded as he looked at Jiraiya "So do we have a deal?"

"Gaki all you had to do was ask." Jiraiya chuckled "It's your right as a summoner for the toads to learn how to become a Sennin."

Naruto smirked at this and soon a waitress walked towards them, setting down several cups of tea and bottles of saki.

"Thank you." Naruto nodded as the waitress smiled and walked off "Well we might as well enjoy this."

There was a general nod of agreement as they started drinking and after a few more minutes food was brought to the table as well. As they ate they talked with Naruto about what he had been up to since he had left the village.

"I wandered around for a few months before I decided to go to Uzu." Naruto explained "That's where I met my sensei."

"Your sensei?" Jiraiya asked with a frown.

"Hao Asakura." Naruto replied as Jiraiya's jaw dropped in shock and Tsunade did a spit take.

"WHAT?!" They both exclaimed.

"Who's Hao Asakura?" Hinata asked confused at their reaction.

"He's a legend." Jiraiya began "He's a shinobi of such power and skill he's been compared to the Rikudo Sennin. No one knows where he came from but he owes his alliegance to no nation and is known to avoid the conflicts of the world, instead spending his time learning all the lost secrets of the world."

"That's putting it lightly." Naruto chuckled.

"How on earth did you become that man's student?" Tsunade asked in shock.

"Well it started about seven months after I was banished." Naruto started.

_*Flashback*_

_Naruto had just finished tying up the small boat that he had used to sail to the island, thankful to the fisherman that he had bought it from. He had been wandering for some time, using his shinobi skills to help out various villages that seemed to be having problems, from bandits to simply too much work to be finished in the time they had left, and in return Naruto earned money, lodging and food. Now he stood on the land of his ancestors, the ruined home that his mother had come from. Naruto walked slowly through the ruins of the nation, seeing that the destruction caused during the war had really finished off this nation. As he wandered he came to realize that the village had the same layout as Konaha and this brough a smile to his face. Stopping his gaze fell upon the ruins of what was likely the Uzukage tower. Entering it he found several destroyed mosaics depicting different scenes from the history of his home, including how the alliance with Konaha had been formed. As he stopped he heard a voice coming from a ledge behind him._

_"It has been some time since a traveller has come to the ruins of this great city." the person stated. Naruto turned, his hand gripping Geiru as he stared at the man._

_"Who're you?" Naruto asked._

_"Name's are powerful things young one." The man chided as he ran an eye over him "But you seem to be a very interesting one."_

_"Thanks..." Naruto nodded as he kept his grip on the blade not quite sure if he was a threat._

_"That blade is very interesting, if I am not mistaken that blade is known as Geiru, once the blade of the founder of this village, a sword that was forged with the aid of the samurai of Tetsu no Kuni and said to be nigh indestructible. Last I heard it had made it's way to Konaha." the man nodded "Though it is obvious that you have learned precious little about the art of kenjutsu judging by your stance."_

_"Yeah... This was given to me before I was able to learn any kenjutsu."_

_"Why might that be?"_

_"I was banished for doing my job..." Naruto growled. The man frowned now and ran another cursory gaze over Naruto and then nodded at what he saw._

_"The son of the Yondaime Hokage banished. The village of leaves has truly become lost." the man sighed._

_"You knew my father?!" Naruto exclaimed._

_"Just in passing. We met once when he was still a jonin. His Hiraishin technique was impressive and his work on creating the Rasengan was ingenius." the man replied "I had great respect for Minato Namikaze."_

_"Thanks..." Naruto nodded "What are you doing here anyway?"_

_"I often search the remnants of the lost to find their hidden secrets." he replied "This place may very well hold lost secrets."_

_"Why are you so interested in that?"_

_"Knowledge is power." he replied "But it is a greater crime to forget our own origins. I seek to keep that knowledge alive by finding the lost secrets and making sure that they are preserved and brought back."_

_"So you're like an archeologist?" Naruto asked._

_"Something closer to a treasure hunter." the man chuckled "Would you care to join me in searching these ruins? We might find something truly interesting."_

_Naruto nodded as he moved out of the fighting stance and the man leapt down, standing well over Naruto. Soon the man led him through the ruins as they walked, the man tapping on the walls here and there as they walked, seeming to take note of different things as they went._

_"So what should I call you?" Naruto asked._

_"Hao will do." Hao replied._

_"Ok then Hao, Are we looking for anything in particular?" Naruto asked._

_"Item wise, no. However what we are looking for are secret doors and passages that have been overlooked. These will often lead to something interesting or give us a better understanding of the place we are searching." Hao explained as they walked and he tapped on another wall and when Naruto followed his example a little further on there was a hollow sound. Hao stopped and looked at the blonde with a smile as he tapped on the same place._

_"Very well done." Hao laughed as he rapped on the wall, finding out the dimensions of the dooway and once he had that he moved his hands along the wall, seeming to be looking for something._

_"What are you doing?" Naruto asked._

_"Looking for the doorknob." Hao replied "The Uzumaki clan were well known for their abilities as shinobi and thus they would trap the door in the case someone tried to break it down, so by opening it the way it was intended we can avoid the trap and keep progressing."_

_Naruto nodded as he stepped back and let Hao work. It wasn't long before he pressed something and the door opened and Hao nodded for them to proceed. The passage went down at an angle and led spiralled down so as to stay close to the center of the village. The passage grew dark and after a few moments Hao removed a small scroll and unsealed an item that emitted a steady green light._

_"You're a shinobi?" Naruto asked._

_"I am." Hao nodded "However I owe my alligence to no village as I do not wish to involve myself in their petty squables."_

_"Really?" Naruto asked._

_"Yes, I was trained in a shinobi village but after my brother was killed I left." Hao explained "Since I just disappeared I am not a wanted shinobi."_

_"I see." Naruto nodded as they continued in silence until they reached the bottom. They found that it was a crypt, containing the remains of each of the leaders of the village. The pair walked amongst the dead until they stopped before one body that held a scroll in it's hands. Hao crouched down and examined the remains and nodded at this before gently removing the scroll from it's grasp._

_"This was likely the last survivor of this city, and he took the secrets of the village and hid in the one place where he would be safe." Hao nodded as he opened the scroll and read over a few items "Would you care to see what you helped uncover?"_

_"Yeah!" Naruto grinned as he moved over and looked at the scroll, seeing that it gave a detailed list of kenjutsu forms along with several Suiton techniques "This is incredible."_

_"Indeed it is." Hao nodded as he looked at Naruto with a smile "You said that you were banished from your home. What is your rank?"_

_"I was a genin." Naruto replied with a sullen look._

_"I see. Since you have no where else to go, and you seem to have a good heart, why don't you become my apprentice? I will teach you all I know and we will help mold you into an amazing shinobi." Hao offered._

_"You'd do that for me?" Naruto asked in shock._

_"I would. I like the look of you, you seem like a good honest young man. I will teach you everything I know and who knows, maybe one day you will carry on in my footsteps." Hao offered with a smile. Naruto could only smile as they returned to the surface and began travelling together._

"It wasn't long after that that we met Kitsune and we came up with the idea to form Yugure. Hao liked it, and helped us make the first crucial steps." Naruto explained with a smile. Hinata looked at Naruto with a smile of her own, enjoying seeing Naruto in this kind of setting, and seeing him look so happy.

"You are one lucky gaki." Tsunade sighed "Hao Asakura is a SSS rank shinobi, and if he is to ever enter a war he has a flee on sight order."

"I know." Naruto nodded "He's what helped me and Kitsune become A rank shinobi, and he says we can become stronger still."

"I'd say you're probably higher ranked then that." Jiraiya nodded "If you are as strong as Kitsune you are easily S rank now."

"Still have a ways to go to meet Hao-sensei as an equal." Naruto noted with a grin.

"Why do you always call him Hao-sensei but Jiraiya Ero-sennin?" Hinata asked.

"That's because Hao-sensei earned my respect by living up to some of the highest standards of life. While Ero-sennin over there is the lowest of the low, but he is still a good guy." Naruto explained, earning a laugh from the two women and one child while Jiraiya just fumed. It was another twenty minutes when Tsunade finally stood up.

"I better get back to the village. I only have a month to try and make the council see reason." Tsunade sighed.

"I better get going too." Jiraiya nodded "I need to get you set up with the toads for your senjutsu training."

"Jiraiya, one more thing." Naruto began, causing Jiraiya to blink at the serious tone in Naruto's voice "Stay out of Ame. You're on their radar now."

"What?" Jiraiya asked.

"I managed to get some intelligence from some Akatsuki defectors and they told me that the last time you were in Ame you were noticed by Nagato. He's going to try and kill you if you go back." Naruto warned.

"Naruto, I have to go get more intel on these guys. If Tsunade does manage to convince the councilors to let you come back then the Akatsuki are going to be coming after you, possibly through the village and we need to be prepared." Jiraiya explained.

"That's what Yugure is for. Even if I do come back I still have responsibilities with them. Please Jiraiya, don't go back there." Naruto pleaded. Jiraiya looked at his godson and he knew that he should listen to Naruto's warning but he felt that the information that could be gained was worth the risk.

"I'm sorry gaki, but I have to get the intel." Jiraiya replied. Naruto frowned at this before taking something out of the coat and handing to Jiraiya.

"Then take this. If you get yourself into trouble I'll be able to help you." Naruto explained. Jiraiya simply nodded as he took the seal and left with Tsunade.

"Are you staying?" Yuki asked Hinata.

"For a day or two." Hinata replied with a smile "I have plenty of days off saved up."

Naruto chuckled as they all stood up, Naruto leaving money on the table for the bill and soon they left and were sitting out on the beach relaxing with Hinata curled up against Naruto while Yuki was building a sand castle. Naruto and Hinata lay there, just enjoying the others company when Yuki finally finished building her sand castle and then walked out into the shallows and Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling about what the tiny shinobi was about to do. Before he could voice his worries Yuki finished her jutsu and a giant wave crashed down on him and Hianta. The pair were sputtering as the wave receded and Yuki started giggling. Naruto stood up with an evil grin on his face as he disappeared and picked up Yuki and then threw threw her out over the water, watching as he saw her land on top of the water before raspberrying at him. Naruto only chuckled as he flashed through handsigns and got her with a wave of his own.

"Naruto, Yuki, play nice." Hinata sighed as she saw where this was soon going to be heading.

"But Kaa-chan..." Yuki complained as Naruto stopped and looked at her before laughing, while Hinata tuned a deep shade of red at Yuki's complaint. Soon Yuki joined in with the laughter while Hinata managed to retain what dignity she had by going up to Naruto hugging him before throwing him into the water as well, earning a cheer from Yuki. This soon led to an all out water war with the three and by the time the sun had set they were all soaked.

"Ok, that was fun." Naruto laughed as shook some water out of his hair.

"YEAH!" Yuki cheered as she leapt onto his back. Hinata smiled as they walked towards the bridge and stopped.

"Well grab my hand Hinata-chan." Naruto stated.

"Why?" Hinata asked as she did, she didn't mind holding Naruto's hand but she was confused as to why he had asked. Suddenly she was wrapped in an orange light and they were standing in a room.

"Welcome to Yugure." Naruto smiled as he set Yuki down "Ok Yuki, got to your room and shower, need to get all that salt water off of you."

"Right." Yuki smiled as she ran out of the room while Naruto looked at Hinata and smiled.

"This is your room in Yugure?" she asked.

"No, it's yours." Naruto replied as Hinata blinked "I told you before, you are more than welcome with us."

"But..."

"You're still a Konaha shinobi? Hinata you can leave all that behind if you want." Naruto offered.

"I can't." Hinata sighed "I want to but I can't bring myself to break my word."

"Caught between a rock and a hard place huh?" Naruto nodded as he walked towards the door "Hinata, I understand why you don't want to leave the village, but in truth what is really keeping you there? Your word, or your fear that I'm in the wrong on this one?"

With that Naruto walked out to leave Hinata to change into dry clothes and think about what he had said. As Hinata went through the wardrobe and found plenty of shinobi gear that would likely fit her she thought about what Naruto had said. She did love him with all her heart but she was afraid that Naruto might be biting off more then he could chew. She was afraid that he was going to get himself killed. She did place a lot of value on her word but in truth she didn't want to leave because she was scared. Sighing she sat on the bed and thought about her choices and her mind went back to the day she had left the Hyuga clan.

_*Flashback*_

_It had been a year since Naruto had left and Hinata was now finished with all of her preparations. Neji had helped her out as much as he could with getting ready for the decisive move she was going to make by helping to research the clan laws and once they had everything in order Hinata approached her father._

_"Tou-san." Hinata stated with the cold voice that she spoke to almost hte entire Hyuga clan with._

_"Hinata, what is it?" Hiashi asked with a frown. Hinata didn't say anything, simply handing him a form for him to read. Once he read over it he blinked and stared at her._

_"What is the meaning of this?" he asked "You intend to leave the Hyuga clan?"_

_"I do not wish to be part of any family that would force an innocent boy to leave simply because they thought he was a bad infulence." Hinata replied as Hiashi blinked at her words "You have read the notice, and there is a precedent so I am within my rights to do this."_

_"However I am within mine to set a condition." Hiashi stated "Defeat your sister in combat and I will allow you to leave."_

_"Very well." Hinata stated "I will be waiting in the training hall." Hinata turned on her heel and was soon in the training hall, letting her anger flow inside of her, to make and keep her resolve like iron. It took only ten minutes for Hiashi to return with Hanabi and several of the elders who had examined the letter and informed Hiashi that she was within her rights to do this._

_"You are here Hanabi to test your sister, who wishes to leave the Hyuga clan." Hiashi explained "This will be a standard match. Begin!"_

_Before Hanabi could move, Hinata had crossed the distance, unleashing a deadly rain of jyuken blows that had her sister pinned against the wall as she continued the strikes,making an impression of her younger sister on the wall as she did so, and kept going until finally there was a cracking sound and the wall gave out and Hanabi fell into the other room, disabled and barely conscious._

_"That should settle the match." Hinata stated as she turned and walked out "I am no longer a part of this clan, and due to the condtions of my leaving I am not trapped by the cursed seal either."_

_Hiashi blinked at this as did the elders who looked over the terms of the leaving and found that she was right, and they were none to pleased. Before they could move a kunai landed in front of them as Neji, a newly promoted jonin, cut them off._

_"I will not allow you to harm Hinata. She is no longer a member of this clan and therefore is no longer bound by our laws. If you attempt to lay a hand upon an innocent free shinobi you will bring shame upon this family." Neji stated calmly as the elders and Hiashi stared at the teen. By this time Hinata had already picked up her things and was walking out the front gate where Kiba and Shino were waiting to help her get everything set up in her new apartment._

Remembering that day Hinata realized that she was in the same situation again, and this time it was to choose between her home, or the love of her life. Sighing she finished getting changed and walked out of the room where she found Naruto walking towards her.

"Was just coming to get you." Naruto nodded as Hinata held up a hand to stop him.

"Naruto-kun..." Hianta began "I'll join."

Naruto blinked at Hinata's statement and once it was said he started to smile.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes. I'll need to go back to Konaha, get some things together and let Tsunade give me a passable cover story so the council won't come after me." Hinata explained. Naruto only smiled as he hugged her and took off her headband, and then took her hand as he soon led her out and gave her to tour, letting her stop and see different things and meet some of the people that were about the buildings, including a new face for Naruto.

"So you're Utakata." Naruto smiled as he finally met the last Jinchuruki.

"That I am Naruto-san." Utakata nodded to the blonde "Your colleague found me camping in the woods not too far from the border of Kaminari no Kuni. I have heard much about Yugure and it my pleasure to join you."

"The pleasure is all mine. This is Hinata Hyuga, another new recruit and my girlfriend." Naruto smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Hinata nodded to the dark haired man. Utakata nodded to Hinata before saying his farewell and walking off. For the rest of the day Naruto gave Hianta the grand tour and soon it was time for dinner and they were soon sitting in the dinning hall with various people shouting greetings to the blonde and to Hinata as well as they soon took a seat sitting by several other shinobi who all seemed to be discussing different things. Hinata ran a gaze over the various people noting the various nationalities and how many of their homelands were not on good terms with one another, yet here they were sitting and talking to one another like they had known each other their whole lives.

"It's amazing." Hinata said to Naruto "This is what you want the world to be like?"

"Yeah. I mean Yugure has had it's infighting at times I will admit, but for the most part we all get along." Naruto chuckled as he started eating. By the time they were finished Naruto walked Hinata back to her room and kissed her goodnight, telling her that he would get her back to Hi no Kuni in the morning. Walking off to the main office he found Hao and A sitting there looking over a form.

"What's up?" Naruto asked as he walked over to them.

"Bad news." Hao stated as he handed the form to Naruto. It was a detailed account of several of their shinobi being killed in Iwa. Apparently Onoki had somehow found a few of their spies and had them publicly executed for treason.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." A noted.

"No. I didn't give that old bastard enough credit." Naruto growled "Change of plans. Once the month has ended we are going to Iwa first."

"Are you sure?" Hao asked with a frown "Changing your plans this late in the game could be disasterous."

"It should be fine. The only shinobi there capable of flight is Onoki himself and I will deal with him personally." Naruto replied with a dark grin "For what he did to our comrades his village will suffer a hundred fold."

Hao only nodded at this, knowing full well that Naruto's resolve was beyond question. A grinned at this and soon was writing down the order to be given for them to begin preparations for their attack.

"We will have to change our strategy a bit, but the same general plan we have to use against Konaha should work." A said as he passed the blonde a new sheet of paper "Problem is that without our spies we are going to have to rely on the airships alone."

"Yeah. And with that old bastards ability to disintergrate mountains I don't think that's the best idea." Naruto nodded as he read over the plans "We can discuss this more when I return. The toads should be reverse summoning me for senjutsu training soon, so when I return then we can finalize our plans and strike."

"Of course." Hao nodded "Train quickly Naruto, while it may seem leisurly to stay on the peaceful mountain, the events of the world will be moving apace."

"Don't I know it." Naruto nodded as he walked off to his room. The next morning he Hiraishined Hinata to the outskirts of the village and kissed her goodbye.

"Be safe." Naruto smiled "You have a little more then a month to get out, have Tsunade help you if neccesary."

"I know. I'll see you soon Naruto-kun." Hinata nodded as she kissed him again and then walked off toward the village. Before Naruto could leave he felt the reverse summoning hit and he was soon sitting on Mount Myoboku with an old toad sitting across from him.

"So you're Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." he nodded.

"Yes. And who might you be?" Naruto asked.

"I'm Fukasaku, one of the sages on this mountain." he replied "Jiraiya said you were coming here to learn senjutsu."

"Yeah, Ero-Sennin said he would tell you guys." Naruto nodded. Fukasaku blinked and then started laughing.

"Ero-Sennin!" he roared in laughter "That does fit the boy."

"I know it does." Naruto smiled as he ran his gaze over the scenery "Not to sound rude Sennin Ji-chan, but I'd like to get to work. I already had my sensei explain to me the idea of senjutsu so we can get straight to work."

"Not wasting any time eh? Alright then Naruto, let's get started." Fukasaku nodded as he took Naruto to a fountain that was dispersing an oil. He then explained that this oil would open him up to the natural chakra in the air, but if he let it overwhelm him he would turn into a toad statue like the hundred around him. Naruto nodded his understanding and sat, letting the oil fall on him as he tried attain perfect stillness. His first few attempts went badly, with Fukasaku having to use the staff to stop him from absorbing too much. It was after the first dozen failed attempts that Naruto brought up using Kage Bushin to help.

"No more then four of you. I won't be able to keep up with anything more then that." Fukasaku replied as Naruto created the clones and soon was back to work. They trained for the rest of the day, and Naruto had made great progress but still wasn't quite there yet. That night they went to Fukasaku's home where his wife Shima, another sage, was finishing dinner.

"You're late!" she shouted at the older toad.

"No I'm not, you're finishing early!" he shouted back. This led to an argument between the two of them and Naruto only smiled as he crouched through the house, sitting down near the table.

"So you're Minato's boy. You have his looks." Shima nodded as she set a bowl in front of him, filled with all sorts of insects. Naruto stared at this and was trying to decide if this would be a bad idea to refuse, but in the end his hunger won out and he dug in, surprised that it didn't taste as bad as he thought, in fact it was better then Shion's attempt to make dinner for him last week, which had resulted in a blackened mess and they had just gone out to eat.

"Yeah, but he has a lot of his mother temperment." Fukasaku replied.

"Got the best of both." Naruto replied as he finished what was in his mouth. This earned a laugh between them as they continued eating, and the next day they were back to training.

It had taken Naruto two days to move past the oil, having stopped it at the point where only his eyes were changing, and then they took him to a series of stone spikes where Naruto was to balance on a stone platform, that was sitting on top of one of the spikes and maintain his senjutsu. As Naruto sat up there he found that this was far harder but not to the point where it was impossible. He sat there for close to a full day before he was able to sit without moving the platform, and he then refused to come down as he said that he wanted to get this right. Naruto sat up there for a whole day before he was able to maintain his Sennin mode and Fukasaku was very impressed.

_"The boy has talent. He has already surpassed Jiraiya in this." Fukasaku thought to himself._

They then moved on to the technique portion of the training, with Naruto learning the Frog Kata and with the help of Kage Bushin he mastered it in ten days. This left only one last thing to learn as Fukasaku leapt onto Naruto's sholder and explained that in order to use this in combat he was going to need to fuse with him and that way one of them would be still while the other moved and fought. As the older toad tried to fuse with Naruto he felt an angry force hit him and red chakra struck with it, forcing him to stop.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"The Kyubi won't let me fuse with you." Fukasaku explained "Because of this senjutsu won't be able to be used in combat."

Naruto frowned at the explanation and was soon trying to think of a way to use it without running into a problem. Naruto thought on the problem all night when it suddenly hit him. The next morning he created three clones and had them gather the natural chakra while he trained, shocking the older toads.

"That is ingenieous." Shima noted.

"No kidding." Fukasaku nodded as he watched the blonde work. Before anything else could be said the pair were summoned and Naruto had the feeling like something bad was about to happen.

"Gamabunta!" Naruto shouted as he ran to find the boss toad.

"What is it gaki?!" the toad asked as he smoked his pipe.

"Fukasaku and Shima were just summoned! Where exactly is Jiraiya?!" Naruto roared.

"Ame." the toad replied as he saw Naruto pale "Why, what's wrong?"

"It's the leader of the Akatsuki. He's attacking Jiraiya!" Naruto shouted as he honed in on the seal that he had given Jiraiya and once he had it locked in his mind he warped to it, just in time too.

Jiraiya was on the ropes as he dodged the three bodies trying to kill him and he felt like he owed Naruto an apology if he got out of this situation. There were only three bodies up against him and he could barely hold them off. Just as the Deva Body was heading for him there was a flash of yellow and Naruto was standing there blocking the fist that had been heading for Jiraiya. In a heartbeat Naruto countered the attack and pushed back the body who stared at him before placing it's hand on the ground and summoning the rest of the bodies.

"Naruto." Jiraiya panted.

"Ero-sennin you are an idiot." Naruto sighed "I told you that they were on to you but you just had to come back here."

"I know. You can gripe later." Jiraiya replied as he looked at the six foes in front of them "We've got to be careful, they can use each others sight so there are no blind spots."

"Then we just overpower them. Two Sennin against the Six Paths of Pain, I think we can win." Naruto replied as he entered sage mode.

"So you figured out a way to use it without us." Fukasaku nodded "Good to know my boy."

"How on earth did you do that?" Jiraiya asked.

"Kage Bushin. Left a few of them on the mountain to remain still and gather the chakra while I fight." Naruto explained as he took a fighting stance "Now less talking, more fighting."

Jiraiya and Naruto both moved, each taking a side while created a Rasengan in his hand and moved in towards the Human Path, who leapt away but Naruto wasn't done as he leapt up after it and smirked as it went right into the path of Jiraiya's attack and was smashed in the back with his Odama Rasengan. Turning they saw that the Animal Path had summoned several beasts to attack them and the pair leapt away as a multiple headed dog tried to eat them.

"Got any bright ideas?" Naruto asked.

"One." Jiraiya replied as he came to a stop "Cover me."

"Can do." Naruto replied as he created several clones and had them draw their blades, holding off the various summons that were heading for them. It took Jiraiya a few moments to finish whatever it was that he was doing and shout for Naruto to get out of the way. Leaping back by Jiraiya he heard the two older toads start croaking a song that soon was paralyzing the beasts and several of the paths. Naruto smirked as he charged forward, creating two Rasengan and leapt over the beasts before smashing into the Animal path and letting the two Rasengan destroy it's head. Naruto prepared to keep going when he was blindsided by the repaired Human Path. Skidding away from the attack Naruto picked out the body that was doing the resurrecting.

"Jiraiya, we need to take down that one." Naruto shouted as he pointed to the Naraka Path.

"Little busy here!" Jiraiya shouted as he dodged the Asura Path's taijutsu attacks. Muttering to himself Naruto charged in but was met halfway by the Ptera path and the Deva path that moved to block him, and try to defeat him. Dodging around one attack from the Deva Path Naruto smirked as he rammed a Rasengan into it's side when it was open, giving him the opening he needed to head for the Naraka path before he could get to the Animal path and revive it. Naruto soon started fighting hand to hand where he showed that he was far more skilled then he had been as a genin, using a form of taijutsu that met any resistance with little force and instead redirected it so he could attack with his own force. It wasn't long befor he had his opening, but he knew that the Human path was watching it's back and would let it know what he was about to do if he was to slow, moving in close he made a punch that it was able to dodge, but not what attached to it's cloak. Before it could remove the seal Naruto Hiraishined close and rammed a Futon: Rasengan into the path, sending it flying and ending the resurrection that it could do.

"How you doing?!" Naruto shouted over to Jiraiya who had managed to destroy the Asura path.

"Not too bad." Jiraiya nodded "We took out two of the fighting ones it looks like."

"Yeah, but what can these other one's do?" Naruto asked as he glared at the three remaining bodies. Before they could move the Deva body held up it's hands and they were sent flying back by a sudden burst of gravity, smashing them into the wall behind them.

"Ouch." Jiraiya grumbled as the pressure stopped.

"Well that's one of them." Naruto noted as he created a few clones and had them start helping him "But let me give this a try." Soon Naruto had a RasenShuriken in his hand, shocking Jiraiya with the technique as he threw it at the bodies. It was then that the Ptera body stepped forward, holding his hands up as he absorbed the attack, draining the chakra out of it.

"And that says what he can do." Jiraiya nodded as they realized that long range was out of the question while the Ptera path was still fighting. Naruto simply smirked as he drew Geiru and stared at the three.

"Jiraiya, buy me some time and I can take down that chakra absorber."

"If you can do it, then go ahead." Jiraiya nodded as he preapred to fight off the Human Path. Naruto charged forward moving in towards the Ptera Path who met Naruto halfway and dodged the inital slash but not Naruto's fist rising in an uppercut that the other paths couldn't see due to the angle. As the body was airborn Naruto unleashed his attack.

"Uzu no Ken: Kanketsusen hikisa(Tearing Geyser)!" Naruto roared as he slashed at the body, unleashing several dozen slashes while he was airborn and letting the severed pieces of the body fall to the ground. Turning he looked at the Deva body and simply sheathed Geiru.

"Looks like things are falling apart for you." Naruto stated as he stared at the body.

"Perhaps, but all I have to do is call for the shinobi of the nation to come aid me and you will be overwhelmed." the Deva body replied calmly.

"And they will see that their leader, a supposed god, is on the ropes by two shinobi." Naruto noted with a smirk. The Deva body frowned at this and soon Jiraiya had finished off the Human path and was standing next to Naruto, preparing to fight the last body.

"We got him on the ropes now." Jiraiya noted.

"Yeah, but this body can't be roughed up too much." Naruto stated as he stared at the body.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes, what do you mean?" The Deva body asked.

"Kitsune has told me to make you this offer." Naruto began "You seek to end war, a cause we have in common. We wish to offer you a chance to join us in Yugure and aid us in creating an ever lasting peace."

"I will have my peace, by monopolizing war." he countered.

"That only makes it more challenging for war to occur, it doesn't stop it." Naruto replied "And besides, all of the Biju are with Yugure now, there is no way that you can capture them without risking massive loss of life. Nagato, I am offering you a chance to come out of that dark place you have been in since Yahiko died, I am offering you a chance to do some real good to the world like Jiraiya taught us to. And I can give you back your best friend."

This last statement caused everyone to blink in shock. Jiraiya stared at the blonde with clear confusion while the Deva body frowned at his statement.

"You lie." he finally answered.

"No. I have been doing research into the powers of the Rinnegan and I learned that you can bring back people to life, but it will cost you yours. However I discussed my plan with Hao Asakura and he agreed that it would work, but all of our movements involved and everything that we do will have to be perfectly timed. It will be dangerous but I can help you bring back Yahiko." Naruto explained.

"Gaki, do you have any idea what you are messing with?" Jiraiya asked.

"I know that this is taboo, but it's to right a wrong that should never have occured." Naruto countered before staring at the Deva body "Which will it be Nagato? Jiraiya and I can continue this fight against you and finish off Yahiko's body, possibly destroying it beyond repair and then come find you. Or you can surrendur now, join Yugure and I will help revive Yahiko. The choice is yours."

Konan was standing a few feet away from them and she felt just as conflicted as her friend was. They both missed Yahiko, as he was the driving force behind much of what they had done these past years, but they had to be cautious that this wasn't a trap just to kill Nagato and herself.

"I want your word that you will do these things you have promised me." Nagato finally said "I know enough about you that you will always keep your word. Swear it on your life."

"Agreed." Naruto said without a seconds hesitation "I swear upon my life that I will help you bring back Yahiko."

Jiraiya frowned at this development but in the end he knew that Naruto knew what he was doing. Naruto smiled as he approached and offered his hand to the Deva body. There was a moment of hesitation before they finally shook, but before anything could be said Naruto tensed and and pulled the body with him as he avoided an explosion.

"HA! I knew you were going to turn traitor!" Deidara shouted as he flew by overhead.

"Oh boy." Jiraiya grumbled as he leapt away from more explosions "This guy is going to be annoying."

"Hey Ero-sennin?!" Naruto shouted as he dodged another blast.

"What?!"

"Think you can hold him still for a few seconds?!"

"Just give me a bit!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he started talking with the two toad sages and soon he was standing still while the pair emitted a powerful croaking song that soon paralyzed Deidara. Naruto only grinned as he created two clones to help him and made the RasenShuriken and sent it flying into Deidara who only screamed as the attack hit him and then fell to the ground dead. Jiraiya blinked at the damage before walking over and and examining the body before looking at Naruto who was talking to the Deva body again.

"I'm taking the body!" Jiraiya called over to the blonde who looked at Jiraiya and only nodded. Soon the older sage had the body sealed up before seeing that the Deva body was leading Naruto up into the highest reaches of Ame.

"Jiraiya." Konan nodded to her former sensei "Please leave the way you came. We will not fight with you anymore but for the time being there are appearances that need to be kept."

"Of course." Jiraiya nodded as he started to leave "If Naruto does succeed in bringing Yahiko back to life, let me know. I'd like to see all three of you again someday."

"Of course." Konan smiled as her sensei left and she turned and followed the two to the highest point in Ame. Once there Naruto finally met Nagato face to face, and he nodded to the man that had such a similar goal to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet face to face." Naruto said as approached the handicapped man.

"I am not certain I can say the same just yet." Nagato replied "I still do not fully trust you, but you have given your word and I am willing to let you try to do this."

"Thank you." Naruto nodded "If we are to do this though I will need to take you to Yugure's main base. I already have a seal placed in the room that we will be performing the revival."

"Very well." Nagato nodded as he let Naruto place a hand on his chair, and then Konan and the Deva body both placed hands onto Naruto. There was a brief moment before they arrived in the room and Naruto sent word that he needed Amaru and Shion. It didn't take long for the two women to arrive and Konan looked confused as to their presence.

"These two are essential for what we are going to need to do. Shion has a very special chakra that can either separate a soul from it's body or replace it. Once Yahiko's soul has entered this plane she will place it in his body, stopping you short of killing yourself Nagato. Amaru is here to help heal him just as his body is revived some of his old injuries may return." Naruto explained as he motioned for the body to lay down. It took a few moments for them to remove all of the chakra recievers in the body and then once it was laying down he nodded to Nagato who opened the seventh path and started to look very pale as the soul finally appeared, and Naruto snapped him out of it as Shion took over. Her charka soon grabbed onto Yahiko's soul and was pulling it into his body and once it was in Amaru's hands were glowing green as she started healing injuries that were appearing. It took another half hour to heal all the injuries and as they finished Yahiko's eyes shot open and he looked around panicked until he saw Konan and Nagato.

"Guys..." he panted "Where are we?"

"Yahiko..." Konan gasped as she soon hugged him.

"Easy on him now." Naruto chided as he walked over.

"Who're you?" Yahiko asked in confusion.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. Another student of Jiraiya." Naruto smiled "I'm also the one that helped you return to the world of the living."

"Return?" Yahiko asked as he frowned and then his eyes widened "I was dead! Hanzo killed me!"

"Relax." Nagato sighed "We brought you back to life."

"But how?"

"A lot of research on my part." Naruto replied with a grin "I held up my end of the bargain."

"So you have. You returned our friend to us, and risked much in doing so. We will join Yugure." Nagato nodded.

"Yes." Konan nodded as well.

"Yugure?" Yahiko asked.

"I'll explain everything soon." Naruto replied as he helped the young man up "Let's get you all situated."

In Konahagakure Tsunade sighed in frustration as the council once again turned down her request to bring back Naruto. She had one more day left for the agreed ceasefire and she knew that it wouldn't help in the slightest.

"Hime!" Jiraiya called as he entered the room.

"What?" she asked with a frown as he motioned for her to come with him. Jiraiya soon had her in the medical area where the dead body of Deidara laying there.

"I need you to examine this guy." Jiraiya explained "This guy was taken out by Naruto."

"How?" Tsunade asked.

"A variation of the Rasengan. He finally finished it." Jiraiya smiled "He did what Minato couldn't."

"He added an elemental release?!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"Yeah. And he made a second variation that he used to take this Akatsuki member down. Killed him in one shot." Jiraiya explained. Tsunade frowned as she started examining the body and then paled at what she saw.

"He destroyed this guy. The nervous system has been severed at the cellular level. Whatever hit him did massive damage quickly and killed him before he even had a chance to react." Tsunade sighed "If Naruto did this he is in possession of an S rank kinjutsu."

"No kidding. He showed up in Ame to help me out when I got caught by my former students. He helped me fight them off and he soon managed to convince Nagato to join him... by reviving their dead friend."

"WHAT?!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"He said that he found a way for them to bring Yahiko back to life, and that Hao Asakura had agreed to it." Jiraiya sighed "He is just shattering all beliefs that we have had."

"I know." Tsunade sighed "And things aren't looking good here. The council has refused to bring Naruto back, and I have tried multiple times and explained to them what will happen if we don't but they won't listen, just saying that we have a large enough shinobi force to handle anything that they could do against us. Add in the fact that Hinata has left as well, things aren't looking good."

"Hinata left?!" Jiraiya exclaimed now.

"Yeah. She finally told me that was going with Naruto. I gave her a long term mission so the council has no idea yet, but they are going to catch on eventually, which means that I will have make her a missing nin." Tsunade explained.

"I'm more surprised that she left now instead of sooner." Jiraiya chuckled. The pair stood there for a moment before walking back to the tower, neither sure of what they can do to avert the situation that the council seemed to be dragging them into.


	12. The Beginning of the End

_AN: Ok and here we are again. First and foremost let me apologize for how short and quick this one is. Really couldn't think of a lot to do with this part here. Now let's get on to reveiws and then the reason why all of you good people are here._

_wacko12: Glad that you liked it, but to explain really quick. This Hao has been a shinobi the entire time, no connection to Shaman King. So no real Spirit of Fire, though the thought did cross my mind at first._

_roboguy45: There may or may not be repercussions. Who knows._

_Guest(first one): Tsunade may survive, you'll just have to wait and see. As for Hinata knowing about the other girls, she was the one that condoned it. And at the moment there is only Shion._

_jonjames427: yes, yes she is. and to explain why he wants to destroy it. He has realized that there is no hope in saving it. No matter how many good people that live there the corrupt just outnumber them and will always find a way to come back. So he decided that the best solution is to just wipe the slate clean._

_cerxer1: I am leaning more towards Konan being with Yahiko personally but I will wait and see where things take me. I honestly don't have any intention of adding her to Naruto's harem, mainly just because I don't personally see it(though I have read a few good fics with that pairing so I can understand where you are coming from with it)._

_Guest(second one): Danzo is covering his bases. He is willing to bring Naruto back, but knows that it is very unlikely. So he has his bases covered by trying for peace but being prepared for when war starts._

_Guest(third one): I just like the two last names. I wanted Naruto to show that he was proud of both his parents and thus the two last names._

_dragonball256: ask and you shall receive._

_Rose Tiger: Yes he is. However he wasn't evil in the sense that he was doing it to just do it. He was trying to do what was best for the world. And while his methods were wrong, he did have the best intentions at heart. I always saw him more as a misguided villain than just a black hearted monster._

_Guest(fourth one): Ok, Amaru and Koyuki aren't apart of the harem, or at least not yet. The romance is a bit of a side thing, and not the main focus of the fic. As for the whole Nami thing. Her past died with the men Naruto killed that were abusing her. He loves her like a daughter and around her he lets all of his barriers down. She has a calming effect on her because like any parent they try to lead by example, so when he starts to lose his temper Nami stops him from losing it, and thus the money into the jar._

_Suave Jiraiya: I do have plans regarding certain people in Konaha and Yugure, so just wait and see. As for the bashing request, you'll have to wait another chapter, as they don't make an appearance this time. But I will make sure that the next time it is included._

_Titokhan: Thank you for the praise. I am happy that you enjoyed this work. I admit that it has had it's moments that were rather difficult but I have enjoyed writing this. I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic as it comes out._

_Peter Kim: Not this chapter, it will be soon though._

_ZyiareHellsing: I agree to the Kage Bunshin statement. It's Naruto's solution to everything._

_dbtiger63: Happy that I got such a good response with my reasoning for Hinata's hesitation. In my original version of these chapters I planned on having her wait until the invasion to switch sides, but in the end it felt better for it to happen then. As for the whole Iwa finding the spies, I will have that explained in this chapter. And as for the changing plans, well that was why Naruto talked to Hao and A, he wanted to make sure that he wasn't being stupid with this, as both of them would no hesitate to tell him he was being an idiot._

_Dragolight: Hinata is under Tsunade's direct authority, so Danzo isn't allowed to do anything to her. Tsunade knew that Danzo and those like him would try to use her against Naruto eventually and made sure to keep her safe._

_Princess Khone: No, but I currently have a jack*** bothering me and he will likely flag this and all of my stories if I go that far. Better safe then sorry until I find a way to deal with him/her(If you want to know who, go check out my fic Naruto: Dark Empire, and read the comments, you'll know who)._

_ferduran: Sorry, but I don't really watch the anime. Got fed up with the filler hell. And didn't have the patience to watch back up to the point I was already at in the manga. I watch the movies because those I can just sit and watch and they won't have any effect on the story._

_New to Naruto: The pairing stands as just Hinata and Shion. Though I might add in a few others eventually._

_NeroYagyuu: Well I am happy to hear that my character portrayal is doing the job that it should. As for the fight scene, you are half right. It was meant to be partially like those two fights, but more showing how well the pair work together. Kind of a foreshadowing._

_Ok, now get to reading._

The Beginning of the End

Naruto frowned as they moved pieces on the map that they were overlooking. He currently stood aboard the Arashi, with Nagato, Hinata, Hao, Roshi and Han overlooking the map.

"It won't be easy." Han noted "Onoki moved several of his forces to the passes, so a ground invasion won't go well for us."

"And unless we deal with the old Tsuchikage quickly air combat is out as well." Hao noted.

"I know, but will our plan work?" Naruto asked.

"It should." Nagato noted as he moved a smaller more detailed map of the village that Roshi had made for them "I can have the bodies drop at the key points to distract them while you move in from the air with Hao-sama."

"While he does that I will help guide our forces from here." Hinata nodded in turn "The problem comes into play here." she pointed to the outlying forces "If we take too long reinforcements will arrive and we are going to have a bloodbath on our hands."

"Agreed. We need to work fast and keep it coordinated." Roshi nodded "You have the time frame?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded as he laid down their list of objectives "Our primary goal is to eliminate Onoki and to claim the tower. If the tower proves to be unclaimable we are to move to variation one. Capture the key points we discussed and make sure to take the jutsu library along with all of their records."

There was a general nod as they moved to their stations and gathered their gear, taking the short range comm links with them so they could stay in contact with Hianta on the Arashi.

* * *

Dawn rose as it usually did in Iwagakure, with most shinobi rising and going about their business, having no clue that Yugure was about to strike. There was a defeaning boom as a smaller ship flew over and dropped six bundles that smashed into the ground with enough force to destroy the buildings that they were near. The six were grouped in pairs and began attacking the shinobi near them, causing a general panic throughout the village.

Onoki saw the destruction and was soon shouting orders as he took off into the air to handle the ship hovering over them that was likely preparing to drop down more enemies. Just as he was preparing to strike he felt an increase in heat and flew to side just as a massive inferno passed him, singeing his beard a bit.

"It has been some time Onoki." Hao said as he lowered himself to the older mans level and Onoki glared at him.

"Hao Asakura. I thought you didn't take sides."

"I haven't, until recently." Hao replied as Naruto lowered down as well, both blades drawn "However my student here convinced me that it was time to give you all the guidance that you have been lacking since the days of the Rikudo Sennin."

Onoki mentally cursed as he realized that it would take all of his skill to handle Hao, but now with the son of his most hated enemy hovering a short distance away he knew that he would have to be the best he had been in a long time.

"I would normally offer you a chance to surrender, however for executing our comrades you will have to be punished." Naruto explained as he channeled chakra down Reijingu-fū, causing the blade to let out it's high pitch scream. Onoki didn't bother answering as he held up his hands and prepared his attack.

"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu(Dust Release: Detachment Of The Primitive World Technique)!" Onoki shouted as he created a massive cone shaped attack that was soon heading straight for the two. Naruto sped off on the board, clearing the blast radius as Hao flew off to the other side, avoiding the attack as he faced Onoki.

"As impressive as ever. However I have surpassed the understanding of most shinobi in both technique and power. Allow me to give you a demonstration." Hao noted as he flashed through handsigns "Shin Katon: Taiyō ryū-en(True Fire Release: Sun Dragon's Flame)."

From Hao's mouth a golden flame shot out, heading for Onoki who tried to dodge it, but was shocked when the flame looped around and was heading right for him. Onoki soon created another Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu and fired it at the flame, letting the detonation go off, destroying the technique. Smirking he turned to look at Hao and almost lost his head as Naruto struck, swinging his blade at Onoki who dodged it, but felt the sting of a cut as the wind slashed into his arm, leaving a shallow wound. The battle twisted through the air as Hao and Naruto worked together to push the old kage back away from the ship, just in case it got hit in the crossfire, while still inflicting several wounds on the older man. Naruto flew off to the side as he dodged a smaller blast of Onoki's lethal attack when Hao took his back and punched, sending the old Tsuchikage crashing into the ground where the pair soon landed and continued the battle in the mountain pass that they had landed in.

"Hmph, I won't fall so easily." Onoki stated as he flashed through several handsigns "Doton: Chikyū o tabe(Devouring Earth)!" With that he placed his hands on the ground, and the literal earth became their enemy. The ground rose up in a set of jaws, intent of crushing them, but Hao was already prepared, finishing handsigns for his jutsu.

"Shin Katon: Hi goku no rei no gekido(Rage of the Spirit of Fire)!" Hao exclaimed as Naruto disappeared in a flash of orange, appearing above the blast zone, right underneath the smaller airship where Hinata and Nagato were. Naruto watched in fascination as the fire exploded outward in such a destructive force that it looked almost like a Bijudama had gone off there. Flying back down he found that Hao was perfectly fine and that the Tsuchikage had been sent flying from the attack. Swinging back towards Onoki Naruto got off of his board, sealing it into a scroll at his side as he moved in to finish off the Tsuchikage.

"Dammit." Onoki coughed as he spat up some blood mixed with soot. Looking up he saw that Hao was hanging back as Naruto approached, the blonde looking grim as he faced the older kage. The two said nothing as the blonde charged in, using Onoki's old age to his advantage as he swung from side to side, making it hard to predict where he was coming from as he struck from several sides, his blades flashing and keeping the kage on the defensive, and unable to use jutsu as he would strike with Reijingu-fū forcing him to stop the jutsu and leap to the side. Naruto soon had the feel of Onoki's patterns and when he moved in feinting a swing with Reijingu-fū he smirked when Onoki moved exactly as he had predicted and right into the path of Geiru, which slashed through his left arm, letting the hand fall to the ground while the old man blinked in shock at the wound and looked terrified at the same time.

"This is the end Onoki." Naruto stated as he walked closer "You have put up a vain resistance, and in the end you have failed. Surrendur now, and let your life end with some dignity."

Onoki only spat at him as he took out a kunai and looked like he would fight until he died of bloodloss. Naruto nodded his respect to the man and sheathed his blades before sending several kunai flying at the older man who blocked a few but blinked in horror as he saw the familiar Hiraishin seal on them. Naruto appeared in front of him with a Rasengan at the ready, smashing it into Onoki's head and letting it ram him into the ground where Naruto held it until he was certain that Onoki had fallen. Nodding he touched the comm link and checked in with the Arashi.

"You are clear to enter the airspace. Onoki has fallen." Naruto said.

"Understood sir. We are moving in now." a crew member of the Arashi stated. Naruto looked over to the mountains and saw the airship drop out of the clouds and head right over the village where it soon lowered down more shinobi.

"You did well." Hao nodded as he approached.

"You softened him up for me." Naruto chuckled.

"You would have had him either way." Hao shook his head "You have the skills of both your parents behind you now, and the skills you have developed for yourself."

Naruto only nodded as he checked in with Nagato "What's the status of the invasion?"

"Going well. I have managed to capture their jutsu library and have my Deva and Ptera path holding them off until reinforcements arrive. Curently the other four paths have joined together and we are laying seige to the Tsuchikage tower."

"Great. The Arashi has already arrived and are sending down the reinforcements. Remember we need that tower captured, and make sure that we also get the I&T department, hospital and the shinobi academy." Naruto advised.

"Of course." Nagato replied.

With that Naruto took to the air again to see the results and found that everything was going smoothly. They had a medic with every four man cell, and each four man cell was part of a group of three, making it harder to catch them off guard. He observed with a calculating gaze as he watched them work and noted the different areas that were proving to be trouble.

"What do you think Hao-sensei?" Naruto asked the man floating next to him.

"It seems to be going well. However there is a stiff resistance just outside of the hostpital. I would advise sending the third unit to reinforce the three already there."

"My thoughts exactly, though I was thinking the fourth. They are closer and they do have a few jutsu that could break through the doorways if they are reinforced." Naruto mused.

"Hm... Yes that would work as well." Hao nodded as he picked out where the fourth unit was. Naruto was then speaking through the comm. link and then watched as the fourth unit shifted direction, heading towards the hospital. Nodding he heard his comm link chirp as Roshi came on the line.

"We've taken the tower. I have all of the records sealed up and am just waiting to send them up to the Arashi." Roshi reported.

"I'll be there in just a minute." Naruto replied as he jumped, sealing his board as he did and then Hiraishined straight to Roshi who had Han and a few other shinobi with him, with several dead just on this floor.

"They gave quite the resistance." Han explained at Naruto cursory glance.

"I figured they would. We've already captured the key areas that are mandatory, and we only have a few more minutes left before we need to get out of here." Naruto warned.

"I know." Roshi nodded "Han and I will go help the trouble areas."

"I can get to the Academy quickly enough." Han noted.

"Do it." Naruto nodded "But keep it safe, I don't want to lose either of you."

"Of course." Roshi nodded as he and the larger jinchuruki left the room and were soon running towards their two targets. Naruto then took the two scrolls and Hiraishined up to the Arashi where they were just getting into position.

"What's the status on those reinforcements for Iwa?" Naruto asked.

"Ten minutes away." someone shouted back.

"Damn. They moved faster then I thought." Naruto cursed as he went to the comm station and spoke into it, directed to all of his comrades "Attention, we have eight minutes to meet our objectives. If you do not think you will be able to send up your flare and get picked up at the rendevous point."

Moving to the window he saw that they hadn't seen a single flare and he smirked as the comm went off with reports of success at the remaining locations. Within five minutes Naruto had collected all of the opeartives at the key areas and those that hadn't been there were out of the village and getting picked up by the smaller crafts. Just as the reinforcements arrived Naruto had the Arashi hovering over the Tsuchikage Tower while he activated the mircophone system, letting all of Iwagakure know what was about to happen.

"Attention shinobi and civillians of Iwagakure!" he shouted, causing everyone down below to pause "I am Kitsune, the leader of Yugure. As of ten minutes ago your Tsuchikage has fallen in battle to myself and Hao Asakura. We have already completed our objectives regarding the information from your village, and we now stand at a crossroads that only you can choose. If you continue to resist I will order the Arashi to fire it's main weapon that will fire a blast of pure concentrated destruction onto the Tsuchikage Tower, with the blast radius destroying most of your village. If you surrendur I will name a new Tsuchikage and this village will submit to Yugue rule. You will not recieve all the same benefits as those that surrendured to us without the need for invasion, but you will survive. The choice is yours. You will have five minutes to send up a white flag from the gates of your village, if you do not then we will take that as a sign of your continued resistance and we will fire."

Naruto moved back and nodded towards the pilot to turn them so that they could see the gate and Naruto waited. It took a few minutes, just short of the time limit that he had set but he saw that the flag had been raised. Smirking he nodded to Han and Roshi to come with him as they flew down in a smaller craft, with Naruto donning his mask as they landed. Walking in front of a small group of Iwagakure shinobi he saw that a few of them had removed their weapons, to show that they meant no hostile actions towards them.

"Have whom ever is left of your ruling body come up to the tower and we will discuss what will happen to all of you." Kitsune stated as he and the other two jinchuruki entered the tower and were soon sitting in the meeting room. It didn't take long before several shinobi and a few older people entered and sat down, looking at Kitsune.

"As I said, since you have surrendured I will be naming a new Tsuchikage, but that will wait. First let me address what is going to happen to your village. We will help you with repairs, however for the next ten years, thirty percent of your total mission profits will be given to us, as recompensation for forcing us to invade and take the lives of loyal shinobi. Second, until the end of that time you will only have a single airship to trade with, meaning your trade will be crippled compared to the rest of our allies. I suggest you keep those land routes open and active. Finally the matter of your new kage. I will have Roshi take over as the Yondaime Tsuchikage." he paused to see if there was any protests, and when there were none he nodded and looked at Roshi "Well you're in charge now."

"I understand." Roshi nodded as he stepped forward "There are going to be several changes around here, but I will get to those soon enough. For now let's focus on repairing the village."

The councilors nodded as they stood up and left while Roshi looked at Naruto.

"So now what?" he asked.

"You will be staying here mostly, unless Yugure needs you for something. Essentially you are in the same position that Gaara is in." Kitsune shrugged.

"I see. And Han will remain with you?" he asked.

"Yep. Best way to do it." Kitsune replied "I'll send a message when I need you, for now help your home. They are going to need it."

"Indeed." Roshi sighed as he left to help start the repairs. Naruto and Han were soon back aboard the Arashi on their way back to Kumogakure when Hinata approached Naruto.

"I still can't believe that you were Kitsune." she sighed.

"Best way to confuse our enemies." Naruto chuckled "And it worked."

"I know." Hinata nodded "So how on earth did you get these things to fly?"

"Stone of Gelel. An incredible power source that Hao-sensei helped me find when we came up with the idea of airships. It was originally a weapon from across the sea, but Hao, Gaara and I did some testing once we got ahold of the key to the mine and found that while we couldn't forge it into the stones for combat purposes like the person who had the key did, we could use it as a powersource. And it is literally an infinite powersource. We had one going at full draw for a month and it just didn't stop, it was insane." Naruto sighed "The stone was what helped solidify Yugure as a possibility. Trade was always a problem but once the airships became more then just a dream we had a way of recruiting various nations to our cause."

Hinata nodded her understanding as they finally arrived in Kumogakure and everyone disembarked, with Naruto taking the scrolls that they had taken from Iwagakure to be examined and copied by the information division. Once Naruto dropped them off he went to the meeting room where A and Gaara were waiting.

"I trust that you were successful." Gaara noted.

"Went off without a hitch." Naruto nodded.

"Then Roshi is now in charge. Good. That means that we have cut Konaha off from their last ally." A stated as he set aside the weight he had been lifting.

"Now we wait a few more days, just to see if Kirigakure is going to surrendur, and then we move in on Konaha." Naruto replied "Everything is going almost perfectly."

"Yes, you have been fortunate." Gaara nodded "Just be careful, once Konaha has fallen we must move on to the endgame."

"I know, and that is going to be the tricky part." Naruto sighed "But we should be fine as long as the invasion goes according to plan."

* * *

In Konaha Tsunade had recieved word that Yugure had conquered Iwagakure and had killed Onoki. She had called an emergency war meeting with the shinobi heads and the veterans to discuss what they could do.

"The attack was swift and from the reports that we managed to get from those that defected and have come to join us it went like this." Tsunade paused as she set down a map of Iwagakure "They had a smaller airship arrive and drop down six people, that soon split up in two groups, with two of them taking the jutsu library and the other four heading for the Tsuchikage Tower. While this went on Hao Asakura and Kitsune fought Onoki and killed him, incinerating his body afterwards so there is nothing left of it. Once this was accomplished they had their main airship arrive and deposit their forces and began the invasion properly. They only had about fifteen minutes from the time the main airship arrived to the time that the reinforcements arrived, but within that time they took the tower, the jutsu library, the I&T department, the hospital and the shinobi academy. Once this was accomplished Kitsune gave them their ultimatum. Surrendur or lose the entire village."

"Troublesome." Shukaku sighed as he finished moving various pieces on the map "In less than an hour they managed to capture a shinobi village that was on high alert and had a much better natural defense then we do."

"The natural defense won't matter to them." Danzo replied "Those ships of theirs make them capable of going over any ground defenses that we could possibly have been made. So unless one of you has developed a means to lay traps in the sky there isn't much we can do about those ships."

"True." Jiraiya nodded as looked at the map again and read the report "What we can discreen is this. They had spies on the inside that told them what to expect, before Onoki had them killed. How did he find them?"

"He noticed some people poking around where they weren't supposed to." Tsunade replied "He had them interrogated and found out everything he needed. I've already started having our forces looked over very carefully, however Naruto already has intimate knowledge of this village so he wouldn't need spies."

"So what should we do when they come?" Choza asked.

"There isn't much we can do to prepare in advance since we don't know when they will strike." Tsunade began "However after seeing this invasion we know their targets. They will head for these key areas and we will need to defend them. The biggest problem that we are going to be facing is numbers. They outnumber us at least ten to one in total shinobi forces from all of their allies. If they manage to recruit Kirigakure then we are looking at fifteen to one at least. All we can do is keep on high alert and see what happens."

This earned general nods from everyone as they left, except Jiraiya and Danzo. The pair stood with Tsunade who looked like she was ready to pass out.

"This is a trying time." Danzo sighed.

"It just keeps getting worse." Tsunade sighed "And that damn council won't listen to reason, even when I explain how badly we are outnumbered."

"Their funeral." Jiraiya shrugged "We can only try to hold the line, or we abandon ship."

"I will not leave this village." Danzo snarled "I will fight until the last to defend this place."

"Calm down Danzo. Jiraiya wasn't saying that we should flee. He was just pointing out our only options. Peace is no longer an option so we will have to fight to defend our lives and homes. Danzo, ROOT is to be intergrated into our fighting force. We need every able bodied shinobi at the ready when Yugure comes."

"Of course Hokage-sama." Danzo nodded "I will go and inform them of this."

The older man left the room, leaving Jiraiya and Tsunade standing in the office with both of them showing their age.

"So in all honesty Jiraiya, what do you think our odds of survival are?" Tsunade asked as she opened a bottle of sake.

"One in a hundred million." Jiraiya replied "At least for the village. For you and me, well Naruto has made it perfectly clear that he is planning on rescuing us before the end. So we will probably outlive the village."

"Not a very pleasant thought." Tsunade sighed "It's ironic, I didn't want to come back to this place, fought it tooth and nail. And in the end here I am trying to save this place from being destroyed."

Jiraiya only chuckled as he took a cup from Tsunade and they both drank, trying to forget the troubles facing them.

* * *

It was three days after the invasion of Iwagakure and Naruto had just recieved the last missive that he had been waiting for.

"The surrendured." he grinned as he passed the letter to A who smirked as well.

"Never thought they wouldn't." A chuckled as Naruto grabbed his mask and headed for the Arashi, informing them that it was time to go to the final hidden village and forge the last alliance. It took several hours for them to get there and once they did Naruto walked down and into Kirigakure, with Mei and her bodyguards standing there, waiting for him.

"Kitsune-san. It is a pleasure to meet you." Mei said as she bowed to him.

"The pleasure is mine Mizukage-sama." Kitsune bowed in turn "I am here to finalize our treaty, wouldn't want to wait seeing as we are on a timeline here."

"In a rush to get rid of Konaha?" Aoi asked with a frown.

"Hardly. We have many other matters that must be dealt with quickly, and they can only be started once Konaha has been silenced." Kitsune shrugged "Now let's go into your tower so we can get this treaty signed and all the facts explained."

Mei only nodded as she took Kitsune into the tower where he passed her the treaty and explained each bit. It didn't take long for it to explained and once it was Mei signed it and nodded to Kitsune.

"There. All finished." Mei nodded as Kitsune flipped through the pages and nodded his approval.

"Excellent. I will have your airships sent over in a few days, once I am sure that we have the crews for them all." he nodded.

"One question. Will we be called to fight against Konaha?" Mei asked.

"No." he replied calmly "The invasion has been planned for some time and we do not need any more people present. In fact if have anymore with us it could cause confusion. Best to leave this plan alone. However they may be a time that we will call you forth to aid us in battle. When that time comes we expect you to be there, unless you are also under seige."

"Of course." Mei nodded in understanding. Kitsune only bowed as he left, making his way back to Kumogakure where it was time to finalize the last few parts of phase 3.

_AN* And next time is the moment we have all been waiting for... THE INVASION OF KONAHA! Leave your reviews and just wait until you see what I have in store. I have been looking forward to this part for a long time._


	13. Burning Leaf Pt 1

_AN* And I am back once again my faithful readers. Now I know that there are likely going to be complaints about me splitting this chapter into two parts, but let me explain that now. This chapter was already a good 4100 words, a decent sized chapter in my opinion, and with the second half it would have gone much further. I needed to split this up and make sure that the ending plays out like I see it in my mind, so I split it up and left you with a pretty good ending to it in my opinion. Now for the reviews._

_BigBossVince: Yes I know, but when I started I was getting bitched at about it having to be that way so to just shut those people up I followed their advice, and now i get it the other way, so in my later works I have fixed this, but for this one that was already well and started I'm leaving well enough alone._

_wacko12: That was a my bad, spelling is close and I don't always get the time to double check it. And Yugure means Twilight in Japanese._

_Generation Zero: Will try to, but sometimes it's short because it is supposed to be a short fight._

_ChibakuNaruto: I felt that no matter what Danzo would never abandon the village. And as for the Kitsune issue, well you will see._

_Vladimir-spider: Please read wacko12 review reply._

_NeroYagura: Glad to see that you are seeing beyond the invasion, because there is more to come. As for someone taking advantage of the airships, well I will explain why that is suicide in a few chapters. Now as for Naruto's power level in all aspects, as a shinobi he is Kage level now, with his abilities laying more towards the combat aspects of it, as a leader he is highly skilled but not perfect or the best, hence why he has A and Hao advising him on the best ideas and plans, and as a politician he is cunning and ruthless, so he is slightly better than your average shinobi councilor, he just doesn't have civilians to deal with._

_Tbaals: First, thank you for the internet cookie, it was delicious! Second, The invasion plans will be revealed here, and who will be saved and who will be damned also(Though not everyone)._

_agnar: Ok, to your first review, yes Naruto was playing down his abilities quite a bit due to the fact that he knew that Sakura at least would report back on his abilities. He was playing it safe but keeping to a level that would show he was still dangerous. To your second review, Danzo hasn't managed to fully unseal the cursed seal, just make a temporary release so that Sasuke can use it's powers in a pinch. However this is incredibly draining to Sasuke and hence why he hasn't used it in a fight. And to your last review, they know that this wouldn't solve the problem. It would be like cutting the head off a hydra, more heads are just going to be sprouting off. Easier to deal with the ones you know than the ones that could do anything._

_Peter Kim: There is a reason why Naruto doesn't want Orochimaru in the fight against Konaha just yet. He has people that he needs to get out of there, including his own operatives, and he knows that Orochimaru would decimate everyone in his path, no matter who they are. And he has his own plans involving Orochimaru, because if you really think that Naruto is ignoring Orochimaru than you are crazy._

_Guest: Thank you for the love of the OC's. Most of the time they just get shit about how they are hogging the spotlight, even if the fic is about them to begin with._

_OoOXylionOoO: Naruto was reading it while walking, so it wasn't one night, and the jutsu itself to Naruto makes sense. Hao will explain this a little more later on. As for Tsunade going to Iwa, they hav been at peace for awhile now, and agaisnt a larger mutual enemy, an alliance isn't a bad idea. Now for the ceasefire, that was actually Naruto just playing Tsunade and Jiraiya. There was going to be a single month of no actions from Yugure to see if the destruction of Sora no Kuni would dislodge the fence sitters. That was just him using their lack of knowledge about his plans against them to get something incredibly valuable. Finally as to saving Jiraiya, why would he let the man that cared about him and helped him train to get stronger get killed? That just doesn't make sense especially after he made it clear that he wanted Jiraiya in his organization._

_Dracoessa: Well you will see who lives and who dies soon enough._

_Alright, enough of my rambling, lets get to the new chapter._

Burning Leaf pt. 1

Naruto stood atop the Arashi as it made it's way through the clouds, his gaze fixed ahead as he waited for them to arrive at the assembly point for their forces. As he stood there he heard footsteps behind him and saw Hinata had walked on to the top of the ship.

"Nervous?" Hinata asked when she stopped beside him.

"Terrified." Naruto confided "There are a million different things that could go wrong, and it all depends on if everyone reacts like I think they will."

"I've seen your plans Naruto-kun, they are as close to perfect as possible." Hinata nodded.

"I know. Still worried. You?" Naruto asked.

"I'm scarred too. But I won't let that stop me." Hinata nodded. Naruto only smiled as he kissed her and saw that they were arriving at their destination.

The meeting point was a large clearing on the edge of Hi no Kuni and the Shoku and Inazuma already there, along with several dozen smaller crafts. As they landed Naruto Naruto and Hinata leapt down and saw that Roshi and Gaara were already there waiting with their personal bodyguards.

"Glad you're here." Naruto nodded to the pair "You all know the plan?!" he shouted to the rest of the amassed army. There was a general shout of yes and Naruto nodded before looking at everyone's face, committing them to memory should they die. Once he finished he gave the order to begin. Soon the airships were off the ground with two heading towards Konoha and the rest heading off to meet the other objectives.

The day had started off perfectly normal for the high alert village and Tsunade was finishing more paperwork when she looked out at the iron gray sky and sighed. As she turned away there was a loud boom and she was quickly at the window again to see two vessels lowering themselves from the skies, and then she gazed at the village and saw three smoking craters.

"No..." Tsunade whispered in horror as she saw the smaller crafts flying down, depositing shinobi. Tsunade quickly triggered the alarm seal and was soon running out of the office with Jiraiya soon joining her.

"This is it." Jiraiya sighed as they exited the tower.

"I know. Let's just hope we can hold them off." Tsunade sighed.

"A fool's hope." a voice from above them said. The two Sannin shot their eyes up to see Hao above them, just about to land.

"Hao Asakura." Jiraiya nodded to the man.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade. I am here to pick you up." Hao replied.

"Pick us up?" Tsunade frowned.

"Yes. Naruto has made it clear that you along with the rest of the few precious people left in this village are to be rescued." Hao stated calmly "Now please just surrendur, I do not wish to harm you."

"We can't just surrendur. This village is our home." Jiraiya replied as he took a fighting stance.

"Very well. Naruto accounted for this possibility already and I am allowed to use force to incapacitate the two of you." Hao shrugged as he removed his poncho, revealing his toned upper body. There wasn't a word said as the three clashed while the rest of the village was put to seige.

Naruto had donned his mask and was currently flying down to ground level, his eyes scanning through the crowds to pick out any of his targets. Once he was certain that there was none in the crowd of shinobi that were rushing towards one of the landing crafts Kitsune nodded before leaping off of the board, sealing it as he did, and landed on top of a chunin while drawing Geiru and slashing through another chunin next to him. With the blood flying Naruto made quick work of the enemies before him before making his way through the streets until he reached his destination.

"Teuchi! Ayame!" he shouted as he saw the stand and the pair in the back.

"Who are you?" Ayame asked when she saw the masked figure.

"I'm here to rescue you." Kitsune replied "Naruto asked me to do this."

"Naruto?" Teuchi asked in shock as Kitsune hopped the bar and nodded to them.

"Yes. The village is about to be decimated." Kitsune stated "I am here to get you two out of here."

The pair blinked before he placed a hand on their sholders before disappearing in a flash, appearing aboard the Arashi.

"Where?" they asked.

"My airship." Kitsune replied "Now I must excuse myself, there are other objectives that have to be met. I'll gather all your valuables and have them sent up here."

Before either of them could say anything he disappeared in a flash and reappeared at the seal in the ramen shop that he had dropped. Making two clones he nodded for them to gather the valuables while he went out to continue the invasion. Touching his ear he made contact with the Arashi.

"What's the status?" he asked.

"Hao has made contact with Tsunade and Jiraiya. They are putting up resistance but Hao should be able to handle it. Our agent in the I&T department has already struck and has sealed up the building and taken down all resistance and is in the process of sealing up all relative files." the nin on the other end began "Our operative in the academy has already gather the files along with the students that have the potential to be skilled shinobi. He is heading for the pickup point now."

"Excellent. Anything else?"

"Nothing to report yet."

"Very well. Contact me with any new developments." he ordered before moving back into the streets and moving through the side alleys towards his destinations.

Leaping on the rooftops Hinata skidded to a stop when she saw two figures leap up in front of her. Smirking Hinata saw who it was that had cut her off and stopped, letting one of the pair glare at her with unbridled hate.

"Hinata." Neji nodded to her, while Hinata continued to glare daggers at her.

"Neji. I'm happy to see you again. Hanabi, not so much." Hinata replied "I have orders to bring you to the Arashi Neji."

"What?" Neji asked in shock.

"Naruto gave the list to everyone of who was to be saved. You are on the list Neji." Hinata replied.

"And me as well?" Hanabi asked with a sneer.

"No." Hinata replied "You can die for all Yugure cares."

"WHAT?!" Hanabi exclaimed in shock. Hinata only smirked as she slipped into a fighting stance. Neji and Hanabi went into their own fighting stance and moved in to try and take down their former family member. Hinata slipped between them with ease and struck, closing a few points on both of them as she took their backs and quickly flashed through handsigns.

"Suiton: Mizuame Nabare(Starch Syrup Capturing Field)." Hinata stated as she spat out a stream of sticky liquid, hitting the pair's feet before they could react. Hanabi tried to turn and found that she was stuck and began trying to pull her legs free. Neji realized what was happening and soon sent chakra through his legs, letting the liquid slide right off. Once he was free though Hinata struck again, this time taking the offensive as she pushed Neji back.

"You can't win." Neji stated "Offensive fighting has never been your strong point."

"It wasn't." Hinata agreed as she slipped under his guard and kicked his knee, bringing him down as she curled her fingers into a punch and smashed her fist into Neji's face "But training as an ANBU taught me not to rely on a single fighting style."

Neji backpedalled from the blow and Hinata took full advantage of that, unleashing the Hakke Rokujūyon Shō(Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palm Strike) and closing his tenketsu points. Neji collapsed, coughing up blood as Hanabi managed to free herself and took the offensive.

"Give it up Hanabi, you can't beat me." Hinata remarked as she dodged another strike.

"I've beaten you plenty of times." Hanabi spat.

"Because I let you." Hinata replied as she saw Hanabi blink in shock "I couldn't bring myself to hurt you, my precious little sister, but now you are in the way of my dream and I will not stand idly by anymore."

Hanabi tried to wrap her mind around the fact that the sister she had always considered weak had never taken her seriously. She had come to the conclusion that the last time they had sparred that it had been a fluke, but to hear that Hinata had never wanted to fight her and let her win shattered her confidence. Hinata used this lull in Hanabi's concentration to strike, hitting several tenketsu points and finally ending her sister's resistance. Looking down at her defeated sister she shook her head and walked over to Neji who was still unable to resist.

"It's time to go." Hinata stated as she helped him stand and then touched the com link "I need a pick up. I have Neji Hyuga here."

"Is he coming peacefully?" the operator asked.

"Not very likely." Hinata stated.

"I'll come quietly if you allow me to take Hanabi with me. I was tasked with looking after her and I will do that." Neji stated.

"He's offering to come peacefully if we bring Hanabi Hyuga. Check with Kitsune and see if that's alright." Hinata stated.

"Will do." the operator stated as the line went quiet. Hinata kept her byakugan open as she searched out the village to see how things were progressing. She saw that most of the shinobi in the village were in the thick of the fighting and that Itachi and Kisame were approaching their objective.

"Hinata, you have clearance to bring Hanabi aboard. We are sending a craft to pick them up. We also have orders from Kitsune for you. It seems that Anko is need of support. Some shinobi have cut her off and have her pinned down."

"I understand." Hinata nodded as she turned to look at Neji "Alright, the craft is coming for you, I'm asking you to keep your word that you will go quietly. Hanibi will likely be detained and placed in a holding cell, but no harm will befall her."

"Very well." Neji nodded "I give you my word I will abide by our deal."

"Good. Now I have work to do." Hinata replied as she leapt away, making her way towards one of their hidden operatives.

Across the village Itachi and Kisame had managed to make their way into the Uchiha compound, using the main assault to cover their entrance as they made their way to the hidden meeting room. Once they entered they quickly sealed up the stone tablet and Itachi nodded to Kisame.

"Go help the invasion. I will head back to the Arashi." Itachi ordered.

"No complaints here." Kisame chuckled as he went back up to the surface level and made his way into the fighting. In the center of the village Yahiko had landed and was soon face to face with one of the most powerful shinobi in the village.

"Kakashi Hatake." Yahiko whistled "Man you are a legend."

"And you are?" Kakashi asked as he prepared to take down the man in front of him.

"Yahiko, one of the founders of the original Akatsuki." Yahiko replied as he gripped the sword that Naruto had given him to replace the one that he had lost after he had died.

"You're the young man that was brought back to life." Kakashi nodded "I hope you realize that I can't let you destroy the village."

"I'd rather not fight you." Yahiko noted "One you have me beat in elemental affinity, and two you are on the recover list."

"List?" Kakashi asked with a frown.

"Yep. Naruto wants us to get you out of here along with several others." Yahiko nodded.

"Such as?" Kakashi asked.

"Can't really say." Yahiko shrugged "I mean if you were to switch sides and help us then I could tell you, but I know that you value loyalty above everything else so that is not very likely."

"You're well informed." Kakashi noted.

Yahiko only shrugged as he stared at the man "So will you surrendur and come quietly or do I have to fight?"

"I have to fight." Kakashi stated as he took out two kunai and sent one flying at Yahiko who dodged it while drawing his blade and swung it at the charging Kakashi who blocked the strike and blinked when he suddenly was sent flying by a wave of water.

"Idaina kyūryū(Great Torrent), a gift from Kitsune." Yahiko explained as he swung the blade and another blast of water shot off, forcing Kakashi to dodge as Yahiko flashed through one handed signs "Suiton: Suigadan(Water Fang Bullet)."

Kakashi blinked as the fangs rose out of the water and Kakashi was forced to Kawarimi to avoid the strike, landing on top of a nearby building as he revealed his Sharingan.

"It appears that you are not to be taken lightly." Kakashi stated as he flashed through several handsigns "Raijū Hashiri no Jutsu(Lightning Beast Running Technique)!"

Soon a lightning hound was charing at Yahiko who blinked at this and tried to leap away, only for the houn to follow, controlled by Kakashi.

"This is why I didn't want to fight!" Yahiko shouted as he rolled away from the hound before leaping off a wall and getting behind the jutsu.

"You can't escape." Kakashi remarked as the hound suddenly turned into pure electricity and was then facing Yahiko's back.

"Oh..." Yahiko muttered as he leapt away again, being kept on the defensive by Kakashi who used his Sharingan to predict his movements.

"Seems like you are having trouble." A voice said. Suddenly the repaired Ptera body and the new Deva body landed in front of him(The new body is what was the second Animal Path in canon). The Ptera body moved in front of the technique and soon absorbed the chakra that created it, stopping the technique.

"Nagato you are a life saver." Yahiko chuckled as he patted the two on the sholders "How are things going?"

"Well. We have met several of our objectives already. Hinata has completed hers already, as has Kitsune with his first objective. Hao however is meeting some resistance." the Deva body explained.

"Against two Sannin, one of them our former teacher? That's to be expected." Yahiko chuckled. Kakashi frowned as he saw the three oponents and remembered Jiraiya's warning about the bodies that Nagato controlled, and how they used each others eyes to cover their blindspots.

"Kakashi Hatake. This is the only warning I will give. While we have orders not to kill you, we will do what is necessary to bring you in. Surrendur now or we will be forced to incapacitate you."

"I can't do that." Kakashi replied as he started flashing through more handsigns "Raiton: Jibashi(Electromagnetic Murder)!" Kakashi then created a massive burst of electricity from his hands and sent it through the water towards the three who quickly moved out of the way of the attack as the Deva body sent a burst of gravity towards Kakashi who smashed into the wall behind him as Yahiko charged in, leaping off of the buildings to avoid the water as he landed and started using taijutsu against a still stunned Kakashi who was soon reeling from the attacks, right into the Ptera body that gripped him in a lock and started draining his chakra until Kakashi passed out.

"That was close." Yahiko chuckled as he moved the headband down to cover Kakashi's Sharingan and then placed a seal onto him that Naruto had given him, that would stop Kakashi from using his chakra and would let the smaller ships to know where to pick up people.

"You just had very bad luck in meeting Kakashi Hatake." the Deva body stated calmly.

"Well that is true." Yahiko chuckled as he started moving "Well I have a job to do."

"Yes, as do we." the Deva body nodded as it and the Ptera body took off at a run, leaping over the buildings.

It didn't take Hinata long to reach Anko and see who she was pinned down by. Anko had her back to a fallen building, with several unconscious people near her as Shino and Kiba kept her pinned down while they clearly waited for reinforcements. Hinata soon landed near Anko and nodded to her.

"How long have they had you cornered?" she asked.

"A few minutes. I sent the request right away when I saw them. I can't let them keep me pinned, especially since I'm carrying some vital documents, along with the few I&T department members that would likely join us. Soon as they saw this they cut me off and realized I was a mole." Anko explained.

"Alright. Leave it to me." Hinata nodded as she flashed through some handsigns "Kirigakure no Jutsu(Hiding In Mist technique)." Soon Hinata created a mass amount of mist that hid her as she struck, first taking down Shino before he even realized what was happening.

"What the... Hinata?!" Kiba exclaimed as he and Akamaru leapt away once they smelled her.

"ANKO!" Hinata shouted as she then heard the sound of movement and Anko and several clones move past.

"What are you doing Hinata?! She's a traitor!" Kiba exclaimed.

"To you." Hinata replied "I made my choice, and I chose Naruto-kun."

"Shino you hearing this!" Kiba called out to Shino but was met by only silence "SHINO!"

"I already immobilized him." Hinata stated calmly "I know how dangerous both of you are, so I took care of him first. I sparred against you more often though, so I know that I can fight against you."

"Damn..." Kiba cursed "Looks like we go all out Akamaru."

Akamaru only barked his agreement as they struck, using the Gatsuga technique to try and strike Hinata who only weaved in between the gaps and soon struck, hitting several tenketsu points on both of them as they went past her. Soon the pair were on the ground, barely able to move as Hinata dispelled the mist and looked at her two former teammates.

"I'm sorry that I had to do this." she said as she walked over to Kiba and Akamaru "But I needed you incapacitated. The village is doomed and I don't plan on leaving you here."

"What are you talking about Hinata?" Shino asked as he managed to sit up.

"The only reason we are actually invading is to get certain people and items out. Once that is taken care of the village is going to be destroyed." Hinata explained as she picked up Kiba and placed him on Akamaru's back as she helped the dog stand up "And you two need to be taken to the Arashi."

"You mean that you are getting those that you and Naruto were close to out of the village and killing everyone else." Shino remarked.

"Not quite. Your families as well." Hinata replied "Except the Hyuga of course."

"What do you intend to do with the Hyuga clan?" Shino asked in confusion.

"You'll see." Hinata replied as she picked up Shino "Even Akamaru can tell that this hopeless. He is helping me save you both."

"The dog shows more insight than most I guess." Shino stated as Hinata picked him up and followed after Anko, heading for the meeting point "Where are we going?"

"To the pick up point. I am getting you guys out of here as quickly as I can. Then I need to go back and help tie up loose ends." Hinata replied as she soon caught up to Anko and her clones just as they reached the meeting point, where Iruka and the students were waiting.

"Good, we're all here." Iruka nodded as he signalled for the smaller ship to land and let them all board. Once Kiba, Shino, Akamaru and everyone else was aboard Hinata got off and nodded to them as she went back into the village to find the other targets.

Kitsune was walking through the market as he saw the people running and trying to get away, especially after a few of the braver, or stupider depending on your view, ones tried to attack him and he left their corpses on the ground as he walked. Smirking under his mask he stopped and leaned back just as the shadow that had formed over him smashed into the ground in front of him where he would have been if he had kept walking. Rising out of the small crater was Sakura who looked completely pissed off.

"You Yugure bastards! Attacking our home like this?!" she shouted as she swung a fist at him. Chuckling to himself he dodged the strikes by merely leaning around them, easily reading her strikes.

"We are at war." Kitsune remarked as he dodged another strike.

"That you started!" She shouted.

"That you asked for. I gave my terms to avoid this and you refused." he shrugged as he stepped back to avoid the kick she tried to hit him with.

"To bring back Naruto-baka?! NO WAY!" She roared as she smashed the ground and created a massive crater that caused Kitsune to actually jump to avoid the ripple of destruction.

"Why?" he asked.

"He's pathetic!" Sakura retorted "He only ever got in Sasuke-kun's way!"

"Did he? And yet he bested the Uchiha not only at the Valley of the End, but also in the Sora no Kuni fortress." Kitsune chuckled.

"Those were accidents!" Sakura shrieked. Kitsune merely shrugged as he continued to dodge her attacks. Finally Sakura stood there, panting from all the effort as he walked up to her and started to speak.

"You foolish little worm." he hissed as he punched her in the stomach "You worship Sasuke like he is some gift from the gods, and spit on the one who worked for his abilities." he then backhanded her and sent her skidding across the street as he continued walking towards her "You turned your nose down at a young man who only wanted to be acknowledged." A kick to her side followed "You treated Naruto like he was nothing, worse than nothing." he then punched her in the face, letting her fall to the ground as she coughed up blood from the damage.

"What do you want from me?" Sakura asked, fear creeping into her eyes.

"What I want?" Kitsune asked as he ripped off his mask, letting her see his real face as his rage became evident "I want back all the wasted time I spent chasing after you!" he then grabbed her by the throat and smashed her into a wall "I want back all the time I nursed injuries that you gave me in your cruelty!" Naruto then turned and threw her across the road, letting her smash through the window of one of the shops and followed after her as he saw her trying to crawl away "I want back every kind word I ever gave you!" he grabbed her by her leg and swung her over his head, letting her head smash through the cieling and straight into the ground before throwing her out into the middle of the rubble filled street "WHAT I WANT IS FOR YOU TO DIE!" he shouted in pure rage as he walked towards her, red chakra spilling out from him.

"N... Na... Naruto..." Sakura gurgled through the blood as she tried to crawl away from the figure of pure anger that now stood over her as he grabbed her by the front of her shirt and lifted her into the air where she was now face to face with him.

"You are the lowest of the low. A pathetic excuse of a shinobi, a woman and a human being. The demons that I and my colleagues have within us are better being than you. You don't even deserve to kiss the ground we walk." Naruto spat as he glared at her before dropping her to her knees where she barely stayed "And for your cruelty, your pettiness, and your actions against a young man that wanted only to feel loved, let the Shinigami have mercy on your soul, because I will have none for you now."

Before Sakura could say anything Naruto had drawn Geiru and swung it, taking her head from her sholders and letting it roll on the ground as he turned and walked away from the body of his one time crush.


	14. Burning Leaf pt 2

_AN* And I am back. Sorry for the wait, the chapter for Kitsune Storm took a long time and I have been having laptop problems again. The laptop is back though and all the chapters finished. Now let's get on to your reviews._

_dragonball256: Well glad to know that you enjoyed the death of the banshee, and as for the sannin battle keep in mind that Tsunade's aren't meant for battle and the toads are staying out of this fight._

_firetemplar415: If you think that's brutal wait until you see the end of this chapter._

_USAVet: Thanks for the correction. What I am typing on doesn't have spellcheck and I have to do that on my own._

_Guest: Man, all of you seem to love the death of Sakura._

_ZyiareHellsing: Happy to know that you enjoy the story, and as for the rescued shinobi, well you will see that this chapter._

_EroSlackerMicha: The end is approaching, but you still have another half a dozen chapters at least._

_Animaman: I didn't have anybody tell them because the challenge dictated that I have Konaha destroyed, and that might have stopped it. Also would they really have believed them?_

_dbtiger63: Glad to hear you appreciate it. And trust me there is more to come._

_NeroYagyuu: I know what you mean. I hhave only read one where she actually dies. And I understand you having trouble remembering all the different fics and what is going on in them. Happens to me all the time._

_Dez Gaurdius: Too true about the Leaf, and as for the fic, I'll take a look at it when I have the time._

_Tbaals: Well thanks for the praise, I consider myself mediocre at best in all honesty. Also you should try to write anyway, even if you aren't good you should always try because you might be better than you think. And as for the cookie... I can't have it then since I am a troll at times too :'-(_

_agnar: Is it? Thought I copied the spelling correctly from the Naruto Wikia page correctly. If I didn't than I am sorry and I will fix it next chapter._

_Ren Tap: Well the end of the Leaf is nigh, and as for our masked friend well he has his part to play as well, just you wait._

_Dracoessa: Happy to know you enjoy what's happening._

_Jormungandr1994: Thank you for the praise, I know I spell things wrong, as I am only human and have no actual spellcheck on the writing program I use for my fanfictions._

_bunnyguest: Well here is the new chapter and I hope it meets your expectations, also let me say this, part of your review was a little too close to what I have happening... GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

_zigmas: I know, but I wanted something memorable for her death and that fit the bill. Personally I have nothing against her but I do like to throw in some bashing here and there for comedic effect._

_Psychochicken: Sasuke's death will happen eventually, but the story isn't done yet and neither is his part to play. As for Konahamaru, well just wait and see._

_banjo: Um... Kakashi isn't getting bashed in this story, unless you want Kakashi to be kicking some ass, and in that case be patient for a few more chapters._

_Ok now that is finished let me say this. Good god people, you all loved Sakura's death a little too much. Anyways enjoy the chapter._

Burning Leaf Pt. 2

Naruto walked away from the market district, heading deeper into the war torn village, pausing to check in on the rest of the invasion.

"This is Anko, Iruka and I are out along with out targets. Hinata also brough us Kiba, Akamaru and Shino." Anko reported.

"Good. Where is she now?"

"Heading back to finish up her second objective." Anko replied.

"Good. Who else has been recovered?" he asked.

"Kakashi has been taken, along with Neji. Lee and Gai are still giving fierce resistance, as is Tenten. Shikamaru managed to meet up with Choji and Ino and they are using one of their combinations to decimate anyone that gets too close. Asuma and Kurenai haven't been spotted yet, though Guren has already gotten to their apartment and gotten Haru to the airship." the operator on the Arashi reported.

"Alright. And our other objectives?"

"Itachi has returned with the tablet from the Uchiha compound, and our forces are already finishing up with the hospital records and supplies. The doctors and medical nin that were on the list have been acquired. Our forces are waiting for Hao to finish dealing with Tsunade and Jiraiya before moving in to get the documents from the tower. Hinata is en route to meet up with our other operatives to deal with the Hyuga clan, and the rescue for the families of the Akamichi, Yamanaka, Nara, Aburame, Inazuka, and the Sarutobi clans is moving apace, though several family members of each clan have died. Konahamaru and his unit are at the extraction point, along with the Forbidden Scroll."

"And our endgame?" Naruto asked.

"Roshi and Yukimaru are already in position. Killer Bee is still en route as is Yugito and Han. Gaara is reporting heavy opposition on his end and is doing what he can to deal with them. Fu is almost in position, as is Utakata." the operator finished.

"Any sign of Danzo or Sasuke?"

"None yet. We have our operatives watching out for both of them but there has been no sign."

"Very well. Inform our operatives that I will go handle Team 10." Naruto stated.

"Understood."

Naruto took off in a blur and soon found the three teammates holding off several dozen Yugure shinobi, with several bodies laying on the ground. Naruto frowned at the combination that they were using and soon realized that this would be tricky to deal with, at least without hurting his friends too much. Sighing he leapt down and gave a hand signal and the Yugure forces backed off as he approached.

"Naruto." Shikamaru nodded when he saw the blonde walking towards them.

"Shikamaru." Naruto nodded in turn "Choji, Ino. I've come to ask you to surrendur, I don't want to hurt you guys."

"Sorry Naruto, but this is our home." Choji replied as he smiled at his friend "You wouldn't surrendur in our position."

"True." Naruto chuckled as he looked at them "But at least let me say this. I am here to get you three and as many of your family members that I can out. You guys are my friends and I don't want you to die."

"You'd kill us?" Ino asked.

"Not if I can help it. But our endgame is almost ready and I don't intend to delay it. I have a lot to finish up and not a lot of time to do it in. So please just surrendur so I can get you guys aboard the Arashi and out of harms way." Naruto pleaded. The three friends traded looks, knowing that Naruto was sincere but they couldn't bring themselves to abandon the village.

"Sorry Naruto. But we can't." Shikamaru stated as he nodded to Choji and Ino and they prepared to fight against the blond. Naruto saw the look in their eyes and nodded to them as he slipped into a fighting stance. Just as they started Naruto flickered from sight, appearing in between them as he kicked Ino away and delivered a back handed strike to Choji, sending him skidding away as he targetted Shikamaru and attacked, pushing the genius back for a few minutes before he backflipped away and avoided Ino's mind jutsu that hit Shikamaru full in the face as Naruto landed and blocked a punch from Choji who had enlarged his fist and tried to smash the blond. Naruto twisted and weaved around the three, never focusing on one for too long that the other two could take his back.

Shikamaru quickly realized that this fight wasn't going well for them as Naruto was capable of moving around so much that he couldn't get a solid read on him, and he kept them separated so that they couldn't use any of their team jutsu. Naruto skidded to a stop after a few minutes and smirked when he suddenly disappeared in a flash of orange and reappeared behind Choji before kicking the teen into the air before appearing in front of Ino and punching her in the stomach and sending her skidding back as reappared again behind her and kicked her into Shikamaru and then reappared over Choji and flip kicked him straight into the pair, dazing them and ending their fight. Naruto landed and placed the three seals on them to stop them from fighting any more and began to walk away when he heard Shikamaru.

"How?" he asked.

"Hiraishin." Naruto replied "I had placed seals onto all of you, I just needed to wear you all down to use them to best extent. You'll be picked up in a few minutes."

With that Naruto was on his way and was soon back in the thick of the fray. Across the village Bee was leaping from roof to roof, heading for his point in the endgame when he was cut off by Asuma Sarutobi.

"You're from Yugure." Asuma stated as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"That I am, but I can't stay. So you should be smart and get outta my way!" Bee laughed.

"Killer Bee. You're a jinchuruki from Kumogakure." Asuma noted as he took out his trench knives "This is going to be tricky."

"There's no need to be so mad, just surrendur and Naruto won't be sad." Bee stated.

"Naruto... He want's me out of the village?" Asuma asked with a frown as Bee nodded "Wish I could, but my dad died to defend this place and I can't back down easily."

"Wish I could say it won't be worse, but you are going to be saying this is a curse!" Bee exclaimed as he drew his blades and faced Asuma who frowned at the Kumo nin and then charged forward, swinging his trench knives as Bee attacked with his multiple blade style, pushing the Konaha jonin back.

Across the village Yugito muttered a curse as Kurenai cut her off, the young woman's face in a determined frown.

"Kurenai Sarutobi." Yugito nodded.

"You know me?" Kurenai asked.

"You are a very well known kunoichi, and Hinata speaks highly of you." Yugito replied.

"So Hinata did join Yugure. I can't really blame her." Kurenai nodded "No chance you would just stop this invasion and leave?"

"Any chance you would just surrendur quietly? Naruto gave orders to get you, Asuma and your daughter out of the village before the endgame." Yugito countered.

"Haru?!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"Relax, she is safe." Yugito promised "I give you my word on that."

"And how can I trust you?!"

"I have always been an honorable shinobi. My name is Yugito Nii, a Kumogakure shinobi." she stated as Kurenai blinked "You've heard of me?"

"You are very well known too. One of the strongest kunoichi's in the world." Kurenai replied.

"Then will you come quietly?" Yugito offered.

"I can't. This is my home." Kurenai replied as she flashed through handsigns and finished her genjutsu.

"Very well then." Yugito replied as she prepared to fight the jonin.

In the center of the village Hao was still battling Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were barely holding back the legendary shinobi. Hao had yet to use any of his famous Shin Katon techniques, but he had used plenty of others as they had fought, keeping the two older shinobi on their toes as the fight went back and forth. Jiraiya skidded back as Hao had kicked him away as he blocked a punch from Tsunade.

"This is crazy." Jiraiya panted as he saw Tsunade get thrown over to him.

"I know." Tsunade agreed.

"Please, just surrendur. This is futile." Hao remarked.

"We're not giving up!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he flashed through handsigns "Doton: Yomi Numa(Swamp of the Underworld)!"

Hao blinked as a swamp appeared under him but smirked as he jumped into the air to avoid it, and right into the path of the chunk of building that Tsunade had thrown at him. Jiraiya moved back with Tsunade as he started another set of handsigns.

"Katon: Endan(Flame Bullet)!" Jiraiya shouted as he shot the oil enhanced fire at the dust cloud that had Hao inside of it. As the fire hit Jiraiya and Tsunade both kept their eyes on the cloud, both knowing that a legendary shinobi like Hao wouldn't be defeated that easily. As the cloud disappated Hao floated there, but he now looked serious. Hao floated there in an armor type nintaijutsu, that covered his upper body and had two larger clawed arms that would enhance his own fighting abilities greatly. Mounted on the back were two large cylindrical objects that the two older nin were sure were very dangerous.

"Impressive. It has been a long time since someone forced me to don the Shin Katon: Hi no Seishin: Kurobina(Spirit of Fire: Black Fowl)." Hao nodded "But this is the end."

Before either of the two Sannin coul react Hao was already in front of them, the two extra arms swinging and smashing them into the ground. Before they could move Hao had picked them up, smashed them into each other and then thrown them to into a line of buildings where they were soon dazed and barely able to stand.

"It appears that I have over done it." Hao sighed as the jutsu ended and he approached the two who couldn't even move "Arashi, I need a pickup for Jiraiya and Tsunade. Send word to the rest of our forces, we are clear to enter the Hokage Tower."

"Of course." the operator replied as Hao looked at the two defeated shinobi before heading into the tower to search for any secrets that Hashirama Senju might have hidden.

Near the clan district Hinata came to a stop and a grin started to form as she saw her father and a group of Hyuga holding the line.

"Hiashi." Hinata stated as she faced him.

"Hinata. What are you doing here?" Hiashi asked as he saw her. Before he realized what had happened Hinata had crossed the distance between them and had struck three times, two to his chest and one to his throat, knocking him down and dazing him as the other Hyuga members attacked. Before any of them could reach her though a blast of water hit them and sent them flying as Nami dropped down.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Just fine." Hinata noded as she stood over her father and Nami handed her her kodachi "Hiashi, let me ask you one thing. Do you regret banishing Naruto?"

"No..." Hiashi spat.

"Then it is on your head that the death of the village must be. If you hadn't banished him that day we wouldn't be here right now." Hinata replied coldly as she stabbed his eyes out "I won't kill you, just leave you here blind until the end comes."

Hiashi screamed in pain as the blade took his eyes, but Hinata was deaf to his cries as she and Nami moved through the clan district, taking out any Hyuga that they came across and incapacitating any of the other clans.

Yugito skidded to a stop and panted as she stared at Kurenai who wasn't doing much better.

"You are tough." Yugito nodded "But I can't play around much longer."

Before Kurenai could react Yugito threw two kunai and while Kurenai blocked them she didn't realize that there was a flashbomb coming right behind them, blinding her as Yugito struck, knocking the genjutsu mistress out with three blows. Across the village Bee had managed to inflict enough damage onto Asuma where he couldn't keep fighting much longer.

"Yo this is Killa Bee, Asuma has been beaten by me!" he said into the communicator.

"Bee, please stop rapping and move on to your target point. We are almost ready for the endgame." the operator sighed "I am sending the pick up teams for Asuma and Kurenai now."

Naruto stopped when he saw Lee, Tenten and Gai and sighed when he realized that in this fight he couldn't hold back. Leaping down he made eye contact with them and just slipped into a fighting stance.

"Sorry Bushy Brows, but I can't leave you guys behind." Naruto nodded.

"Leave us behind?" Tenten asked.

"We are about fifteen minutes from our endgame. I need to get you guys out before we end this." Naruto replied.

"What are you going to do?" Gai asked with a frown.

"That would be telling." Naruto chuckled as he flickered from sight and punched Lee in the face, sending him flying into Tenten. Naruto leaned back as Gai unleashed a spinning kick and the fight began in earnest. Naruto soon realized that against three shinobi that were combat specialists, and two of them taijutsu masters, he may have bitten off more than he could chew. Skidding back from a kick that Lee had made to his chest he stood shakily but stopped when a wall of sand cut him off.

"Enough Naruto. You have other matters to deal with." Gaara chided as he stared at the three "I can handle this."

"You sure?" Naruto asked "You still need to get to your station."

"I can defeat them in ten minutes and get there in time." Gaara promised "Now go. There are other things that need to be dealt with."

Naruto nodded as he took off at a run and Gaara sent a wave of sand to stop Tenten from pursuing.

"I am sorry, but I can't allow you to pass. I will only ask once, please surrendur now or I will be forced to use whatever means neccessary to stop you." Gaara warned. The three exchanged glances, all knowing that Gaara was the Kazekage and shouldn't be taken lightly, but neither could they just back down. Gaara soon realized that they were determined to fight and before Tenten could get away he had her trapped in sphere of sand. Lee and Gai blinked in shock as Gaara sent waves of sand at them that the two dodged or smashed through but soon Gaara had them restrained as well.

"Why are you doing this?" Lee asked.

"To protect you." Gaara replied as finished informing the Arashi to pick them up "This village is about to be destroyed and we are getting everyone out that we possibly can."

"How?" Gai asked.

"You will see. Now I have to go." Gaara replied as he left the sand to hold them as he created a platform of sand and was soon on his way.

Naruto stopped on a building near the Hokage tower and smiled when the report came in that he most needed to hear. Leaping down he walked into the decimated square where Danzo was now standing.

"Danzo." Naruto nodded as he faced the older shinobi.

"Naruto." Danzo nodded in turn "You have done what I have most feared. You have brought ruin to this village."

"Wouldn't have happened if you hadn't banished me all those years ago." Naruto noted.

"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't learned your fathers technique so quickly." Danzo retorted and then continued when Naruto gave him a confused look "I knew that there was no way that Tsunade would let you join ROOT, so I planned to have you banished than after an attempted kidnapping by Itachi and Kisame I would have ROOT save you and take you back to the village where you would have been trained to be an unstoppable weapon."

"At the cost of my humanity." Naruto replied as he shook his head at the man "You and Hiashi Hyuga brought this doom upon the village. Both of you trying to do what you thought would further your own goals when you should have left well enough alone."

Danzo only frowned at this as he prepared to strike. Before he could he felt a blade stab him from behind and saw the Naruto in front of him disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"You should watch your back more Danzo." Naruto chided as he pulled Geiru free and then moved back a few steps as he saw Danzo was fine "So Itachi's report was correct. He told me that you had undergone some interesting modifications in hopes of controlling me, including getting ten Sharingan on your right arm."

"I'm surprised that Itachi told you all this." Danzo noted.

"When he realized that his brother was turned into a monster by you he decided to help me out." Naruto shrugged "And that technique you used, that was Izanagi, and it just cost you one of your Sharingans."

"You are well informed. But you realize that I will not fall for such a trick twice. Though I must admit that I am impressed that you managed to hide yourself from my Sharingan." Danzo said with a frown.

"I've been training to fight against Sharingan users for years now. I know how to hide my presence from them." Naruto nodded as he drew Reijingu-fū and the blade started to let out a high pitched scream "Sing Reijingu-fū!" Swinging the blade a crescent of wind flew from it, catching Danzo off guard as he was cut in two, then disappeared and reappeared a short distance away. The fight progressed like this for several minutes, with Naruto pressuring the older nin with his speed and control of the zone with his blades while counteracting any ninjutsu that Danzo could throw at him.

After nine minutes Danzo was on his last Sharingan, having not had a chance to stop using the Izanagi. He panted from the massive loss of chakra and realized that Naruto had stopped as well, frowning as he checked the sun.

"I'm almost out of time. Time to speed things up." Naruto stated as he removed his coat and rolled his sholders "Hao-sensei is a lot like Gai, lots of weights."

In a blur Naruto crossed the distance between them and Danzo realized that he was about to be killed again as he felt Geiru pierce his side as Reijingu-fū swung upward and cut him in two. Danzo flickered from sight again and reappeared, now on his last Sharingan.

"It is a shame that we banished you. I can only imagine what we might have accomplished if we had you fighting for us." Danzo stated.

"The past is blinding in it's clarity." Naruto nodded as he opened a scroll and unleashed dozens of Hiraishin kunai. Grinning Naruto disappeared in a flash and soon had a continuous orange blur around Danzo before it stopped and Danzo tried to find where the blonde had gone before he realized that there was a hissing sound. Looking down he saw hundreds of explosive tags on the ground and they went off, forcing Danzo to use his last Sharingan. When the smoke cleared Danzo stood there, panting and barely able to stand, just as Naruto reappeared in front of him.

"I admit Danzo, you were the biggest threat to our plan." Naruto stated as he touched his comm link "Start Endgame!"

From the edge of the village there was a primal roar as the eight Biju appeared around the village, all of them facing the center.

"No..." Danzo whispered in shock.

"Yeah. The Izanagi has the potential to cancel out what we had planned and we couldn't have that." Naruto explained as he looked down at Danzo "But now that you have lost all eleven of those borrowed eyes we can finish our invasion." Naruto paused to touch the comm link again "Is everyone out?"

"This is the Arashi. We have everyone aboard, and all objectives have been made."

"Good. Tell the others to begin Endgame." Naruto nodded as he looked at Danzo "I won't kill you, I will let you die alongside this village that you love so much." With those final words Naruto disappeared in a flash and was back aboard the Arashi, just as the eight Biju finished making their Bijudama's and in a blinding flash they fired, creating a massive explosion that tore up the trees around the village. When the smoke finally cleared the shinobi village that was once Konahagakure no Sato was gone, and only a crater remained in it's place.


	15. The Full Scope

_AN* And I am back! I am sorry for such a long delay and for such a short chapter. The delay is due to the fact that there have been issues in my family that have take up a lot of my time, and the laptop broke so I had to wait for repairs. Now the reason for the short chapter is because this is a build up chapter before we start the final arc. We have maybe another four or five chapters to go before this story is over. Now before you start reading let me reply to the reviews._

_Peter Kim: No, I will show Sasuke's death. If I give the banshee a half way decent death scene then you better believe that I have one planned for Sasuke._

_dragonball256: Wasn't sure on that either, but decided to play it safe and have him get fucked up before the big bang._

_Mikeblade: That was more for the irony of the moment._

_robotguy45: Just wait and see._

_Aqua Rules: I thought so too. Again, nothing against Danzo, just more of a he needed to die for this to work._

_Guest: It's more of how he is before Naruto starts fighting the other biju in the canon story line. He can take the chakra but Kurama isn't all buddy buddy with him yet._

_dbtiger63: Sasuke's whereabouts will be revealed this chapter. His death is coming, just needed him alive for a little bit longer._

_A.P. Samuels: I don't really see him doing that, but that is some epic shit I wil not deny that. May use that for the Dark Empire story though... Anyways glad to see that you enjoyed this._

_kittychan125: he isn't dead yet. If I showed how Sakura died I will show you how Sasuke dies._

_dansama92: Ok, again no spellcheck so I am playing it by what I know. Thanks for catching that. I try to check the wikia but I don't always have the patience to go and check it every time I think I spelled a name wrong. I just let you guys catch the occasional mistake._

_bunnyguest: Ok, Orochimaru... yeah not happening. You'll see why as you read this chapter. As for the whole Kurama thing, well it might happen it might not. As for the parents in the seal, he's already seen them since he got control of Kurama's chakra, though I am sure that they would understand why he did what he did. As for Danzo and Madara, Danzo is dead already and Madara will have his part._

_Ok, onto the chapter._

The Full Scope

Naruto turned from the scene of utter destruction and faced the remaining shinobi from his former home that stared at the crater with such pain and loss. Naruto took a count of the total people that had been rescued and realized that it was less than he had hoped for but more than he had expected.

"Everyone." Naruto started as he moved to a point where they all could see him "I know that this is a heart wrenching moment for all of you, losing your homes like this, and I want to apologize that it had to come to this. I never wanted the village destroyed like this but in the end this was the only way of ensuring a better future."

"A better future?!" a shinobi in the crowd shouted "What kind of future can you build on the blood and bones of dead?!"

"One where such an event will never need to occur again." Naruto replied "You can ask Tsunade, I offered Konaha every chance to turn from this scenario, every chance to come join us in Yugure and become more than what it was. And every time the council chose to turn us away."

"He is right." Tsunade sighed "We did everything that we could to stop this but in the end the civillians thought that we could win."

"Against a force that outnumbered us ten to one?" Shikaku snorted "We had better odds of stopping all the tailed beasts at once."

"Naruto, you said to all of us that you had planned on securing different things, what were they?" Kakashi asked as he stepped out of the crowd of shinobi.

"That information is only for those that will join us." Naruto stated "I will make you all this offer, the village of Konaha is gone but it's spirit is not. This is you chance to turn things around and do something great to redeem the village that once stood as a shining example to the world. Join Yugure and we will help you rebuild and start anew. Join us and step into a new world with us. Or turn us down and you will be held as prisoners. You will be treated fairly and every amenity will be offered to you. The choice is yours."

There was a stunned silence for several moments before Tsunade stepped forward.

"My grandfather made the village in hopes of a better future and we squandered it. I don't intend for this to be the end, but a new beginning. I will join Yugure and build a new Konaha from the ashes of the old."

"I'm with you hime." Jiraiya nodded "I know it's what sensei would have wanted us to do."

There was a few mutterings before others started to come forward.

"Well I may not speak for the whole clan, but I for one am joining." Choji smiled as his father nodded that he would as well, and the rest of the Akamichi clan agreed.

"It'd be troublesome to resist." Shikamaru sighed as the Nara clan agreed to join as well.

"We can't be breaking the team after all this time." Ino sighed as her clan agreed to join as well.

"It is only logical that we work with those that risked so much to make sure that we would survive and have a chance to thrive." Shino stated as the rest of the Aburame clan agreed.

"Heh, no way am I going to be left out of this." Kiba grinned as Akamaru barked his agreement.

"My son has a point." Tsume growled as the rest of the Inuzuka clan voiced their agreement.

"Yosh! It is most youthful to offer us aid!" Lee shouted.

"Agreed my youthful student!" Gai agreed.

"NO HUGGING!" Naruto shouted as he stopped their sunset genjutsu before it started.

"I too will join Yugure, as long as Lady Hanabi is treated well. It was my last task given to me by the Hyuga and I do not intend to abandon it." Neji stated.

"You have my word she will be treated well." Naruto promised.

"Well I won't be the only one to be left behind." Tenten chuckled.

"Uncle Asuma?" Konahamaru asked from his position among the Yugure shinobi. Asuma looked at his nephew and then to Kurenai who nodded and then he spoke.

"The Sarutobi clan is with you as well."

Shizune looked at her mentor and then nodded her agreement to join Yugure as Tonton oinked his consent as well.

"I can't say that I'm thrilled to join those that destroyed my home." Ibiki noted.

"But..." Anko continued looking at her mentor.

"But in the end it was for the best. I'll help you." Ibiki replied as the rest of the surviving I&T department agreed. Finally Naruto looked at Kakashi who spook.

"Those who abandon a mission are trash, but those that abandon a comrade are worse than trash. I'll join Yugure as well." Kakashi eye smiled as Naruto grinned and patted his sensei on the arm.

"Well then everyone, welcome to Yugure." Naruto said with a smile "Find quarters for everyone and let's be on our way to Kumogakure!"

There was a general shout as most of the shinobi were led off of the bridge along with the few civillians that had been saved, with only Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kakashi remaining to talk with Naruto as they flew towards their destination.

"So what were you after?" Jiraiya asked.

"All of the documents that the village had for starters." Naruto stated "Along with the stone tablet in the Uchiha compound. According to Itachi it has some very interesting information on it. Konahamaru brought the forbidden scroll with him and we also secured most of the clan documents as well."

"That's quite a lot." Tsunade notted.

"But all of it was necessary." Naruto replied as they turned and they saw a cloud of black smoke rising.

"What is that?" Kakashi asked.

"The other part of phase 3." Naruto replied as he walked over to the comm link station "This is the Arashi, what is your status Inazuma?"

"Inazuma here. The destruction of Otogakure is going according to plan. There are no survivors so far, and we have Orochimaru on the run."

"Don't let him escape. What about the other bases?"

"All destroyed. The Shoku has already taken out every base in the elemental nations. Guren's information made it a lot easier."

"And Kabuto?"

"There has been no sign of him."

Naruto frowned at this before signing off and looking at the three former Konaha shinobi who were staring at him stunned.

"You were attacking Orochimaru while you were also invading us?" Jiraiya asked in shock.

"Killing him is the better term. Orochimaru is too dangerous to leave alive and that's why we launched a surprise attack on him. Guren's information helped us find all of his bases since she was very high in his chain of command. I doubt we got all of them and this is going to take years to make sure that we have fully destroyed him, but the way things stand we should have the majority of Orochimaru's taint eradicated by nightfall." Naruto explained as he walked towards the door "We'll be in Kumogakure in about an hour. Once we land I want you three to come with me to a meeting that the main council is going to be having."

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

"Because Phase 4 is about to begin and I need to read you guys in on this and get your opinion of what is going to happen, some fresh eyes might spot something I have missed." Naruto explained as he left the room. An hour later they arrived in Kumogakure where the majority of the shinobi were take to temporary housing while more permanent estabilshments were made for them while Naruto and his commanders, along with Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Shikamaru and Shikaku went to the main meeting room where A and Mei Terumi were waiting for them.

"Glad to see it all went well." A nodded as he looked at the new arrivals "Tsunade."

"A." Tsunade nodded as she shook his hand "It's a pleasure to be on the same side this time."

"Too true." the Raikage chuckled as he nodded for them to take a seat while Naruto made his way to the head of the table.

"Ok everyone, it's time to start getting ready for the final phase." Naruto sighed as he passed around folders containing documents "To fill in our new arrivals as to what is going on, these first three phases have been to unite the world under a single banner, to prepare to fight off our true threat."

"True threat?" Shikamaru frowned.

"For the last eighteen years someone has been manipulating things from the shadows, starting with the Kyubi attack, the madness of the Yodaime Mizukage, the sudden change in the Akatsuki's methods. I have spoken at length with those close to the people of each of these incidents and it all comes down to one figure that should be long dead. Madara Uchiha."

"Madara Uchiha?!" Jiraiya exclaimed "He should be dead!"

"Should be and I think likely is." Naruto nodded "I think we have another Uchiha masqurading as him. One that is trying to push things towards his final goal. He manipulated Nagato into changing how the Akatsuki operated, took control of the Mizukage, and releaed the Kyubi from my mother while she was giving birth to me. He is trying to instill chaos while moving towards his ultimate goal, gathering the Biju."

"But why?" Kakashi asked "The Biju are powerful but they are not unstoppable."

"Agreed." Naruto nodded "That is why I'm hoping that the stone tablet that we recovered from the Uchiha compound will shed some light on the matter. According to Itachi, a masked man helped him kill the whole Uchiha clan that night, but he thinks that it was a ruse to go and read the tablet while the clan was distracted."

"So what do you think that this man is planning?" Mei asked.

"If I have to guess, a war. A war to capture all nine Biju and implement his master plan. A war that will be the final one on this land." Naruto replied.

"Are you certain?" Kakashi asked.

"I have looked over his reasonings and findings and I have come to the same conclusion." Hao stated "If it is true that this masked Uchiha that calls himself Madara is trying to start another war than it is best that we have united the world. Every shinobi nations stands with us now, along with the smaller nations. Tetsu no Kuni has agreed to aid us in this matter as well."

"So we are prepared to handle the worst case scenario." Tsunade noted.

"Not quite." Naruto sighed as everyone looked at them "There was one objective that we didn't meet in the Konaha invasion, and I am positive that he got away."

"Sasuke." Kakashi sighed.

"Yeah, he wasn't sighted once during the attack." Naruto nodded "I think that Madara got him out and is likely getting him ready to fight against us. Itachi, is it possible to use a genjutsu to trigger the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"In theory yes." Itachi nodded "It would have to be very complex and very difficult to break, one that the mind can accept with ease. But if it could be done than the evolution could occur."

"Crap." Naruto cursed "All we need is Sasuke with a Mankekyo Sharingan."

"Would it be that bad?" Mei asked.

"A full powered Sharingan makes him challenging. A Mankeyo Sharingan will make him a much larger threat. There is no telling what his abilities will be with that second step, and that will make him very unpredictable." Naruto explained.

"But we have Itachi on our side." Jiraiya noted.

"And he is going blind." Naruto sighed.

"It is true. The cost of the Mankekyo is to lose ones sight the more you use it. The only way around this is to take someone elses Sharingan and thus keep your sight." Itachi explained.

"So you take Sasuke's eyes." Jiraiya replied "He is already gone down the path of evil, so there shouldn't be a problem."

"True. Though I would like one last chance to try and convince him to change his path." Itachi sighed.

"I doubt it will work, but if it does than great." Naruto replied "Ok, you all have copies of the files that we have and inside are the assignments that I need each of you to handle. Look over them and be ready to move out at a moments notice. Until then it's business as usual."

There was a nod of general agreement as they all stood and left the room to begin their preperations and to try and find out what their enemy was planning.

Orochimaru panted as he hid on the outskirts of his villages. Yugure had caught him flat footed and had pressed the advantage. His forces were destroyed and shinobi that were just as powerful as he was in their respective areas were pursuing him. He didn't know how this happened but he was determined to survive. What made matters worse was that some of the key people that he had brought to this base were suddenly missing and he was certain that they hadn't defected for Yugure, which made it all the more troubling that they were gone. Before Orochimaru could do anything else a sword stabbed through the tree and through his chest, shocking him as he shed that form and emerged from the mouth of the old body. He had already done this two other times and he would not be able to do it again for at least another thirty minutes.

"You won't escape." a voice to his right said as the ninjutsu master landed, already flashing through handsigns "Katon: Taiyō kaminoyari(Lance of the Sun God)!" a lance of white hot fire shot out, too large for Orochimaru to evade and the sannin paled as he flashed through handsigns and attempted to use a wind ninjutsu to counteract the worst of the fire. What he hadn't expected was the massive heat that came with it and he could literally feel his skin cooking from the increasing temperature. As the fire stopped Orochimaru stopped the jutsu and found that his arms were char broiled and useless and felt two kunai stab him in the back as he turned and saw the third pursuer landing, the one that used long range weapons and genjutsu.

"You're finished." The swordsman said as he leapt down from the trees where he had moved during the fire jutsu flickering from sight while swinging his sword. All Orochimaru could do was roll to the side where another kunai struck him in the leg and he fell to the ground. Orochimaru paniced for the first time in many years as he realized that he still had five minutes before he could use the snake shedding technique again and knew that they would not wait that long. Before he could try to bide time the first man swung his blade and removed Orochimaru's head from his sholders and then nodded to the ninjutsuist to set the whole thing of fire. Once the body was burning the swordsman touched his communicator.

"This is the take down team. Orochimaru is dead, body is confirmed and has been incinerated."

"Very good. Return to the Inazuma." the operator said as he made sure to pass along the message to be sent to Kumogakure.

In a hidden base deep in the woods of Hi no Kuni, Tobi stood over Sasuke who was trapped in an illusion that would trigger the Mankekyo Sharingan. He had been in the illusion for days since the masked man had gotten him out of the village. He had known that Yugure would attack soon after they had attacked Iwagakure and he was going to need the avenger on his side to help deal with the tailed beasts. He had also gotten several other key pieces for this altered plan since they had failed to capture a single Biju. Kabuto was undergoing a transformation that would render him even more powerful while he also worked on creating an army of Edo Tensei soldiers for Tobi, while the few members of Orochimaru's forces that he could acquire trained in a different part of the base. Suigetsu had been easy to recruit since he had gathered five of the seven swords from Kirigakure and had promised him the other two once they were taken. Karin had proven troublesome but his promise of giving her to Sasuke had settled that matter. Jugo had been the most difficult due to his madness. However once he told him that Kimimaro had died for Sasuke and that it was now his duty to work for the Uchiha he had instantly calmed down and was now working on controlling his abilities even better.

Sasuke's scream as he was freed from the illusion, his eyes changing tore Tobi from his thoughts and the masked man nodded as he saw the Uchiha staring at him, his new eyes bleeding from the shift.

"You're ready now. Now you can take your revenge on all those that have wronged you. Itachi, the remains of Konaha, and Naruto Uzumaki."

The last one earned a snarl from the Uchiha's throat as he grabbed his blade and slashed through a wall.

"When do we start?" he asked with a grin as he faced his benefactor.


	16. Beginning of the War

_AN* Ok, I am back again. I am sorry for the delay but there have been some very upsetting personal issues these past few months and I just wanted to curl up in a hole and die. But I am doing better and will keep up the steady updates, especially since the end is nigh. Now first let me apologize for the shortness of this chapter in particular, as there wasn't too much to cover but more of a setup for the final arc. Now then let's get to the reviews._

_dragonball256: I can say this, yes Madara will be in this and almost as much of a bad ass as he is in the comics, minus the whole near invincibility thing. As for what Tobi showed Sasuke, he put him through a very elaborate genjutsu that made him think he had a best friend growing up and than forced him to kill him. It's a more dangerous way of awakening the Mankekyo Sharingan as it can cause massive brain damage if it fails, as in vegetable for life kind of damage._

_Thorndsword: The difference between Naruto and those two is that their relative is still alive. If something were to happen to those two, than they would kill whoever is responsible and rain hell down on the nation that was behind it. Naruto's parents are dead and Sarutobi would have had no reason to do that since the heritage was kept a secret even in canon. I'm just giving a reason behind it, you got a complaint about Naruto never finding out about his parents until he was older take it up with the creator of naruto._

_YukiAsuna-chan: Ok, I will do your replies all at once. First Nami is not paired with Naruto as she is ten. Second you really seem to like Nami... Glad that my OC is interesting. No I had my plans for Naruto's banishment but to keep it realistic to a degree I had to let them have a chance. Naruto didn't know about Pain at all really as Ame was closed off to him. Third, keep in mind the jutsu Naruto was using and all the hard work that he was doing as well. The Roar of the Gods jutsu is a SS class jutsu and can only be used by people with extremely large chakra reserves. Fourth, well that was answered last chapter. Fifth, they caught Iwa off guard otherwise that could have gone either way. Sixth, everyone seems to love the fact that I actually showed the brutal death of Sakura, you are all some sick puppies and I love you all for it. Seventh, Danzo didn't even know where Sasuke was. Finally, I have my plans for Sasuke and an epic fight scene for Itachi involved with that, and no I don't plan on making the same mistake with Madara, he will be a beast but Yugure has their own beast on their side._

_Elemental77: At the moment it is only Hinata and Shion, though I am considering showing the rest of the girls in the epilogue as the war is going to make showing the build up impossible._

_lalo80: Umm... I have no idea what you said. I do not read that language so please keep your reviews in english(or american as I so like to call it as my British friends love to point out the differences between the two)._

_Ok, that's done. Now I will say this now so it is perfectly clear. I will NOT be covering every god forsaken fight in the war. If it happens with canon than that is how it happens here. Some fights will be changed due to characters still being alive, or some being dead but otherwise if you don't see certain characters in a particular fight than it means that they are following the canon. Also after this chapter there are a total of four chapters left to post. We are on the home stretch here people._

Beginning of the War

Naruto sat in a circle as he and the other containers communed with their Biju. They had all done this on their own many times but Naruto had them doing this together this time in order to make sure that they could work together when the need arose. Soon all of them were inside a water floored plain with their demons in the same circle that they had been sitting in the real world.

"So the war begins." Sanbi noted quietly.

"Indeed. Have you heeded our advice?" Nibi asked looking at Naruto.

"As best as I could. Sasuke got away and the other targets as well."

"To be expected." Rokubi nodded "You have enough elements in place where you can handle the final battle."

"But the question is will we be able to keep us all safe. We are the main targets in this war." Roshi stated.

"We will have to do what we can." Gaara remarked "If we do not take part a great many people will die, from all of the villages, and as Kazekage I will not allow that to happen."

"Agreed." Naruto nodded "We can't sit back on this one and let everyone else die for us. Until our scouts get back we will not be able to do much, but we can work together with our respective Biju."

"Is that so?" Kyubi asked with a chuckle "You've been trying to work with me for years now gaki, what makes you think that I will work with you now?"

"Our opponent is someone that you hate more than me." Naruto replied with a grin as the Kyubi stared at him before grinning.

"Too true." he finally laughed "I assume that all of you are agreed in this matter?" There were nods from the other eight beasts as Kyubi looked down at Naruto "You know what you've got to do."

"Yeah. For all of us, human and Biju, we need to win." Naruto grinned as Kyubi held up his fist to bump knuckles and Naruto returned the gesture.

"Than let us do just that." Kyubi grinned.

With that they all exited the mental world and were soon standing and stretching. Naruto was soon heading back up to the main meeting room where he was joined by Hao.

"We've had news."

"Oh?" Naruto asked looking at his teacher.

"Our scouts are back, and they say that they are massing near the remains of Oto no Kuni."

"I see... That means that they have to cross two countries to get here."

"Only if we let them." Hao nodded "If we can manuever ourselves and our armies just right we could keep the fighting to the areas where there are no people."

"Yes, but who should lead these armies." Naruto mused "Have the others been informed?"

"Yes." Hao replied "We will need to discuss that and determine who will go where."

Naruto only nodded as he turned down a side corridor and entered the main hall and from there to the meeting room where the others leaders had already gathered and soon they had a map laid out and were pointing out several different areas that they could have the battles at.

"The southeastern coast will do, keep our backs safe from a sea attack." Mei noted.

"Agreed, and this desert here in the eastern edge of Shimo no Kuni, right where the border is. Our forces can fight without restraint here." Gaara added.

"Alright, and here along the northern edge of the forest of Hi no Kuni. This way we stop them from sweeping lower and catching us off guard." Kakashi added, pointing to a spot of the forests.

"We also need to protect the Daimyo's." Jiraiya pointed out "If they get the leaders of the nations than it doesn't matter if we win or not."

"Alright." Naruto nodded as he finished circling the key points "These are where we send our main forces and from there I advise we bring the Daimyo's to a safe house and have one of the Kage's keep watch over them with a small force of shinobi."

"I'll volunteer." Mei stated "Seeing as how you will need the other Kage's elsewhere."

"Fine." Naruto nodded as he looked back over the map "A and Tsunade, you will help coordinate things from here. We will need you to use the Yamanaka clan and any other shinobi with mind abilities to communicate with us over long distances, so we can gather our forces and move them accordingly. Mifune, I'm placing you in charge of our fifth army, that will be stationed in the forest, be cautious as we don't know the extent that the enemy will be coming at us."

"Of course." Mifune nodded.

"Kakashi, you will be taking the fourth army and be stationed here, at the border of Yu no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni. You will be behind the advance team and handle anything that heads that way."

"Got it." Kakashi nodded.

"Shikamaru you are in charge of the third army, you will cover our backs and guard the beach. I know that you'll say it's troublesome but I need the others elsewhere."

"Fine... Troublesome blond." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Roshi and Gaara will be in charge of the last two armies, and you will be our main force. The attack will hit us hardest at our own borders and we will be as prepared as possible. We will divide up our forces amongst these armies." Naruto explained "The medics will be kept off of the front lines and will have their pavillion set up here, in between all of the armies."

"Good." Tsunade nodded "I note that you haven't specified what yourself, Jiraiya and Hao will be doing, or the other Jinchuruki."

"The Jinchuruki will be divided up amongst the armies, while myself, and Hao will be floaters. Jiraiya I need you amongst the initial forward party to deal with the enemy before their main army can make contact with ours. Be cautious and be prepared to fall back after you've dealt with their forward party." Naruto explained.

"Ok. Who will be with me?" Jiraiya asked "I'd like to get moving soon."

"I'll be sending Sasori, Konan and Neji with you. Remember to play it safe. I don't need a repeat of what happened in Ame." Naruto grinned as he looked at Jiraiya who only chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Right." he nodded "I'll go let them know."

"Alright, we have our plan, now lets divide up our forces and get moving!" Naruto shouted.

Five hours later Jiraiya's team was on the move, working as quickly and quietly as they could they made their way through the quiet country side, noting that the Kumogakure shinobi and the members of Yugure had already evacuated the two countries in case the fighting went as violent as they expected. Once they reached the border of Yu no Kuni Jiraiya motioned for them to stop and nodded towards Neji.

"It's clear for now, however being this close to the enemy we are bound to see something soon." Neji reported.

"Alright. Sasori, Konan, the three of us are going to start setting up traps in this area and slowly move back. Neji, keep those eyes of yours peeled and as soon as you see a chakra source you let us know." Jiraiya ordered.

"Understood." Neji nodded as he moved back a few feet as Sasori and Konan began laying explosive tags in various areas along with trip wires along the ground and through the canopy of the few trees in the area. As they slowly moved back Neji suddenly perked up and shouted.

"Above us!"

Jiraiya looked up and saw an ice mirror above them with an Edo Tensei face looking at them as it sent senbon needles at them. Leaping to the sides Jiraiya flashed through handsigns and quickly sent a blast of fire at the mirror that withstood the heat and flames with ease as another airborne figure passed overhead and sent down multiple explosives.

"Deidara." Sasori muttered as they dodged the explosions.

"Can you handle him?" Konan asked as she moved behind a boulder to dodge a senbon from Haku.

"Konan please." Sasori smirked as he took a small scroll from his back and unrolled it. He placed his hand over a seal that read Air and with a cloud of smoke held ten small puppets that were designed to fly. Grinning he made the connection to each puppet before sending them out to attack and watched as Deidara attempted to blow them out of the sky.

"Sasori-sempai! You are alive!" Deidara shouted as he sent a clay bird towards one of the puppets that twisted with ease to avoid it while another sent a shuriken flying into it to blow it up "Didn't think you'd betray us though!"

"I was made an offer that I could not refuse. And now I have taken my art to a whole new level!" Sasori exclaimed as he moved the puppets to combine into three larger ones that struck sending a blast of electricity at Deidara who had to jump off the clay bird he was on and create another one as the first fell to the ground useless.

"HA! Looks like we can finally decide who is the better artist!" Deidara shouted as he sent a swarm of small insects towards Sasori who only smirked as he saw Konan create a wall of paper to encase them and seal them before Deidara could explode them. While the airial battle raged Jiraiya was holding off Haku who was proving to be a difficult opponent to pin down.

"You are one tough chick." Jiraiya noted as he dodged another barrage of needles.

"I'm a guy." Haku stated bluntly as he struck again.

"Wait a second, you're that ice kid that Naruto told me about!" Jiraiya shouted as he rolled under the kick that Haku had used as he shot out of an ice mirror and into another.

"Naruto?! You know him?" Haku asked.

"I helped train the kid." Jiraiya replied as he flashed through handsigns and created another fireball that forced Haku to change mirrors to get a better target on Jiraiya.

"Then he is doing well?" Haku asked.

"He's doing better than well. He's one of the guys in charge of our army, that you're being forced up against." Jiraiya explained as he dodged another attack.

"I see. That is good to know." Haku smiled "It is a shame that we are enemies again, but I cannot stop this."

"I figured as much." Jiraiya replied as he moved away and grinned as he activated the flash bomb that he had dropped and smirked as the mirrors intensified the blast, blinding Haku and forcing him to retreat while his vision returned.

In the air Deidara was on the ropes as he couldn't attack one of the puppets as the other two would move in to protect it and cancel out his explosions before they could happen with their lightning attacks.

"This is cheating Sasori-sempai!" Deidara shouted down to the puppet master.

"Hardly. I am proving that my art is superior." Sasori calmly replied as he twitched a few fingers and grinned "And this is to prove it."

Deidara looked around and realized that the puppets had him surrounded and that they had their lightning charged and ready to go.

"Torai kaminari bakudan(Tri-Lightning Bomb)." Sasori grinned as the puppets fired, creating a massive burst of electricity that destroyed the bird that Deidara was on and paralyzed him as he crashed to the ground. Once the hit Konan moved over to him and placed a sealing apparatus on him and nodded to Sasori who had recalled his puppets to place the sealed body in a scroll for transport.

"Neji?" Jiraiya called as he ran over.

"The other one has gone. But there is a large army that is starting to move out." Neji explained going pale "It is almost as large as our own."

"Oh..." Jiraiya said, paleing as well "We need to get out of here now."

"Agreed." Neji nodded as the other two began to move. They were soon running back towards the fourth army when Jiraiya felt mental contact from Inochi.

"Jiraiya, what is your status?"

"We've been discovered. We managed to lay some traps but not too many before the enemies advance team attacked. They are using Edo Tensei to bring back shinobi. They have a Hyoton user in their ranks already and he is powerful. There is also the fact that they have a massive amount of ground troops that are as close to our number as I have ever seen. No clue where they got this many but they do. We are heading back to the fourth army now."

"Understood. I will inform Naruto and A immediatly and we will begin to make any alterations to our plans as needed. Is there anything else to report?"

"Only that Sasori has taken down Deidara and we currently have him sealed and are transporting him back. See if our R&D guys can figure out a way to cancel out this jutsu." Jiraiya replied.

"Very well. I will spread the word. Hurry to the fourth army, when you get there we will have furhter orders waiting for you." Inochi stated. Jiraiya only huffed as he relayed what had been told to him to his team and had them increase their speed as much as they could.


	17. A Matter of Family

_AN* Hello again everyone. As I have said before we are in the home stretch here and pretty soon it will be time to say goodbye to this story. Hard to believe I know but I have another four chapters and an epilogue left. Now before the reviews I want to say this, on my profile is a poll for the next story I should start working on. All of them have been planned out to quite a degree and all of them can be posted in a day or two after the poll closes, which will be after the last chapter of Yugure is posted. Please go check it out and place your votes, and if you have any questions about one of the choices(meaning basic plot or something like that) feel free to ask me via pm. Now let's answer those reviews._

_biofan09: Just wait and see. Most of the fights stay the same from the canon, however I have a few good ones planned and am actually really looking forward to the next chapter more than this one ^_^._

_Cerulean Knight: I might have to steal that... I mean if I had more for Sasori planned... Maybe in the final battle... Now the hamster in my head is running again and I need to plan more diligently._

_RickJames196: Wow... Those were a lot of long reviews. I do not have the patience to reply to each of them as personally I am not that patient to begin with. However I will reply to your last one and let me say again thanks for reviewing. In truth I doubt the genjutsu would normally work in canon otherwise a lot of Uchiha would be using it to get the Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto and Kyubi's relationship is going to be shown a little more in a few chapters when he goes up against one of the more powerful Edo Tensei, and it will explain a lot of why Naruto is the way he is about using Kyubi's powers and gathering the jinchuruki. As for the Edo Tensei, well no one really expected that one, I mean Naruto is good but he is not omnipotent. He can overlook things just like anyone else and it does show with how Kabuto, Sasuke and all of those others got away. As for the Haku thing, well keeping kind of close to canon for the war as it makes my life and planning process a thousand times easier. Again thanks for the reviews and looking forward to your next one._

_Ok, now get to reading folks._

A Matter of Family

Naruto frowned as he and Hao stood aboard the Arashi looking over the map as the armies began their clash.

"Not good. Edo Tensei is tough enough on it's own, but now we've got to deal with these white Zetsus. Has there been any luck sending Deidara back to the afterlife?"

"None. Though we did finish reading over the notes from the Nidaime Hokage and from one of Orochimaru's labs. Apparently since he last used it it has been tweaked. They have two stages, one where they are still sentient and are capable of talking to their opponents. This can be dangerous if they manage to pit someone up against a deceased family member or friend." Hao stated "The second stage is one we are familiar with, where they are mindless beserkers. As for sending them back, if we can make them feel no more attachement to this world than they will simply dissolve and head back. The only other way would be to have whoever is using this jutsu perform the jutsu necessary to stop it."

"Well I've already dispatched one of our best operatives to handle that issue." Naruto nodded as he touched the comm link "How's it going Itachi?"

"I am making progress. I have managed to avoid enemy patrols and am working closer to the point where Neji-san saw the army coming from. I will be able to locate the man responsible for the Edo Tensei soon." Itachi stated.

"And can you stop him and make him stop the jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"One can hope, persuming that I do not run into any unexpected difficulties."

"Roger that. Maintain radio silence for now and we will let you know if we know anything more for you." Naruo stated as he ended the frequency and switched over to the general frequency used by the army and waited for points to be brought up.

"This is Shikamaru. We have a slight problem here."

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Whoever created the Edo Tensei did a very good job. They managed to ressurect the Ino-Shika-Cho trio that first joined the village." Shikamaru explained.

"Bad?"

"Very. These guys developed a lot of the tactics that we still use today."

"Do what you can against them and bring them down as fast as possible. If things get to hot for you to handle send word to us and I can see if Nagato can divert one of his bodies or if Hao or myself can step in."

"Understood." Shikamaru nodded as he refocused on the fight and managed to avoid the shadow of his great great grandfather.

"Not bad boy. Be troublesome if you hadn't dodged that though." he sighed.

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed.

"Quit being lazy!" Ino and her ancestor shouted at the two Nara and then looked at each other as they both smirked.

"Um guys, shouldn't we focus here?!" Choji exclaimed as his ancestor threw him near the two.

"Yeah. Formation 4." Shikamaru nodded as they began teh combination when it was disrupted by the members of the previous generation and pushed them back with Shikamaru frowning more.

"Come now you three, we know that old trick." Yamanaka chuckled as she brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes "You're going to have to do better than that, or should we be focusing our attentions on your army instead?"

"Ease up there." Akamichi chided as he saw that Shikamaru was planning something "The Nara kid is up to something."

"Troublesome." Nara sighed as he nodded to the two of them as they started their Nikudan Yōyō(Human Bullet Yoyo).

"Shikamaru?" Ino asked slightly worried.

"Choji, Ino. Remember that new plan we were working on?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah?" Ino nodded.

"Time to try it out. Formation F!" Shikamaru roared as he launched his shadow towards the Yamanaka, while Choji took off in a blur as he used the butterfly transformation to turn into his skinny form and target Nara while Ino moved back and prepared to use her mind techniques against the Akamichi. Choji and Shikamaru disrupted the techique before it could do anything as the three had alternated opponents and the three ancestors frowned at this.

"You have divided yourselves." Yamanaka scoffed as she glared at Shikamaru "You are only weakening yourselves."

"Are we?" Shikamaru asked with a grin as he leapt back as Ino, controlling the Akamichi's body back handed Yamanaka across the battlefield and straight into Shikamaru's shadow that wrapped around her with ease.

"Choji?" Shikamaru called to his friend to find that he had the Nara in the air and clarly had done some damage as he was in the midst of regenerating his arms.

"Figured he couldn't trap me without his arms." Choji chuckled as he crashed onto the ground where Shikamaru quickly called over a team of sealers to lock the three away.

"That went surprisingly well." Ino chuckled.

"Formation F is a success. Distract their attention and then rely on the others to work with you." Shikamaru nodded as he turned to see that there were still plenty of fights to stop "Troublesome. Let's get to work."

"Right!" Choji exclaimed as the three prepared to enter the fray.

* * *

"Status report Kakashi." Inoichi asked from hq.

"We are currently dealing with Kisame's old friends from Kiri." Kakashi replied "But Samehada is able to drain them of enough chakra that our sealers can trap them before they are doing too much damage. There is a slight problem though. There is a living boy here, taking the swords as they fall and then using them against us to the point that we are having a hard time fighting him."

"Does he have a name?"

"Calls himself Suigetsu."

"Noted. We will check and see what we can do against him." Inoichi nodded as he told Shikaku and he turned to look at A and Tsunade.

"Hm... If he is alive than we need to capture him. He might have valuable intel we could use." A noted.

"Doing so might be difficult." Tsunade noted "Inoichi, connect with Kisame and see what he knows about this boy."

"On it." Inoichi stated as he went silent for a few moments before finally speaking "He recognizes the boy. He is the brother of one of the Edo Tensei on the field and is just as skilled as Zabuza is, with the capability of using any of those swords."

"Damn." A cursed.

"And the worse part is that he is intent on getting the full set according to him, so he is going to be going all out against Kisame." Inoichi added.

"Inform Kisame that he is to do whatever it takes to end this quickly." Tsunade stated "We will just have to trust that Itachi can get into the enemy base undetected."

"Hmph." A snorted knowing that there was no way that their luck would be that good.

* * *

Kisame grunted as he used Samehada to block the swing of Kubikiri Hocho from Suigetsu who had taken it from the fallen Zabuza.

"Not going to lose to you this time Kisame-sempai!" Suigetsu shouted as Kisame only smirked as he saw the boy's muscles increase in size as he swung the giant sword.

"Gaki, you are decades too early to be fighting me!" Kisame roared with a laugh as he blocked the weapon with ease and slid Samehade into to shred through Suigetsu's stomach, letting him fall. Turning he frowned when he saw that instead of blood there was water on his blade and that Suigetsu was getting back up with a smirk.

"That's right Kisame-sempai, Orochimaru experimented on me quite a bit. Now there is no way I can't beat you!" he roared as he swung the blade at Kisame who only chuckled as met the slash with a block that allowed him to grab the weapon in his hand as he rammed Samehada into Suigetsu and smirked as he saw Samehada start to devour all his chakra, which was incorporated into his every cell due to the procedure that Orochimaru had done to him.

"Suigetsu, you may be stronger than just about anyone with that ability of yours, but against me and Samehada you aren't capable of even making me go all out." Kisame stated in all seriousness "Shame you have to die, but you are way to dangerous to leave alive."

With those final words Suigetsu screamed as he was completely devoured by Samehada while Kisame turned to Kakashi, nodding to him as he saw the Jonin slashing through a Zetsu clone with his new sword Arashi Ikari(Storm Wrath). The blade was identical to the others Naruto had given to Itachi and Nagato, with the only change being the yellow color on it and the constant electricity that it emitted that paralyzed a foe if it didn't kill him right away and it was rare if Kakashi didn't kill them right away.

"You good?" Kisame asked as he scanned the battlefield.

"Fine." Kakashi stated with a scowl as he too scanned the area "They are tougher than we thought."

"Immortal army here." Kisame chuckled as he walked towards a large cluster of Zetsu "But that just means we get to cut loose some more!"

With a bestial roar Kisame charged the enemy and Kakashi only sighed as he followed the man, knowing that he would likely lead him to the areas that needed the most assistance.

* * *

Naruto frowned as he and Hao continued to move the various pieces that represented the various armies around the map and frowned at what they were seeing.

"They are pushing us." Hao noted.

"Not too surprising. What really shocks me is their determination in this. And the fact that we haven't seen one of the others transform yet." Naruto nodded.

"Well placing Yukimaru with Roshi was a wise decision, as was adding Yugito to Gaara's team. Since those two are intertwined they can look after our inexperienced jinchuruki." Hao nodded as he saw Naruto nodding.

"How is the fifth army doing?" Naruto asked.

"Holding their positions for now, but with night falling we will be at a dangerous disadvantage."

"We need to be careful." Naruto nodded "It was a good thing that we had those Rikudo Sennin tools though."

"Indeed. If we hadn't sealed those brothers away and gotten them off the battlefield before this 'Madara' could claim them it might have ended badly for us." Hao nodded "The fact that we haven't seen him yet troubles me greatly."

"No kidding." Naruto nodded as he went back to moving another piece "No sign of Sasuke either, or Kabuto. But I'm willing to bet he's behind the Edo Tensei."

"It makes sense." Hao nodded "I am surprised that we didn't go and handle this."

"If we kill Kabuto it will not stop those super zombies." Naruto replied "Itachi might be able to use a genjutsu of some kind to get him to perform the jutsu."

"Logical." Hao smiled as suddenly Inoichi was making contact with them.

"We have trouble! Those Zetsu clones are capable of transforming into perfect copies of whoever they make contact with. There is no difference in chakra between the two and the only thing they don't take is teh memories!" Inoichi reported.

"Crap." Naruto cursed as he went through a sheet of papers and pulled up the one he was looking for "Ok Inoichi, send word around to the entire army that this is the procedure that they are to take until I can get to them. Those that are active in the field are to cease all activities and no one is to leave their designated spots. If they so much as set a foot outside of the spot they are told to be in they are to be assumed a Zetsu and killed on sight. If they are heading for the Medical area have all guards use pass phrase 3 until I can get a clone there to check and see who are the real ones and who are the fakes."

"Understood." Inoichi nodded.

"Troubling." Hao noted "With this kind of capability they could plant moles and sabatoge us without us ever knowing."

"Good thing that Kyubi and I are working together now." Naruto chuckled as he created several clones and ordered them to the various armies to make sure that there were no fakes in their midst as Naruto turned and nodded to Hao "We need to get down there soon. Otherwise who knows what they will pull next."

"SIR!" a voice over the comm link screamed.

"What is it?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We have a lone Edo Tensei cutting his way through our ranks. He is too powerful! We have been unable to stop him and I am barely sta... GUGH!" the shinobi started but soon was gut silent as Naruto could hear the sound of a katana being pulled out of him. There was a moment when Naruto was about to disengage the link when he heard someone start talking.

"I know you are there. I suggest you come down from where ever it is that you are hiding before I have to do this to your entire army." the voice said. Naruto frowned and looked at Hao who had a curious look on his face as he nodded to Naruto to pinpoint the location. Once they saw where this person was the pair took off into the air and arrived to see a young man, around Naruto's age walking down a path with a bloody katana dripping on the ground as he walked. He had neck length dark brown hair and he was wearing a pair of orange headphones behind his ears, he wore a black vest and trimmed shorts with an orange lining, and wrapped-up sandals.

"Yoh..." Hao whispered as he faced the Edo Tensei youth.

"Huh... Hao?" Yoh asked cocking his head to the side.

"Yes little brother." Hao nodded as Naruto shot Hao a surprised look.

"This is your brother?" Naruto asked in shock.

"He is." Hao nodded as he stared at the young swordsman in front of them "Naruto... I must ask that you leave this fight to me."

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed.

"As your sensei I am prepared to order it." Hao stated as he shot Naruto a look that told him he would.

"Just tell me why." Naruto huffed finally. He trusted his sensei but in the end he didn't want to leave him to fight the brother that had caused one of the most powerful shinobi in the world to become something more akin to a hermit.

"It is my fault that Yoh died. And while you are an exceptional shinobi Naruto, Yoh stands on par with me, if not more so." Hao stated calmly "He is a master of Shin Doton(True Earth Release) as I am a master of Shin Katon."

"Oh..." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Before you leave, I must ask that you return his sword to him." Yoh stated "If I must face my brother I must face him at his best, and that cheap katana he wields will not do against me."

"If you're sure." Naruto nodded as he opened the scroll and unsealed the last katana and tossed to to Yoh who caught the weapon and nodded to him.

"Thank you." Yoh smiled as he drew the weapon "I missed Shizuka Chikyū(Tranquil Earth), this katana does not sit right in my hands. Thank you Naruto. Now please leave, I don't want you to have to see me spill your sensei's blood. Don't worry, everything will work out." Yoh smiled at Naruto and the blond nodded in turn as he felt that while he was under the control of their enemy he was still an honorable man that wouldn't betray Hao's trust.

"Meet up with me when you can Hao-sensei." Naruto stated as he got back on his board and took off into the sky.

* * *

Itachi paused as he reached the end of the forest and saw the ravine ahead where the enemy was likely to be. Stepping cautiously he made his way towards the opening when he knew that this was a trap. Stopping he turned his gaze to his surroundings and didn't spot a thing, even as he checked for genjutsus and after still finding nothing stepped into the ravine and down into the cave system where he came face to face with Sasuke, along with a small army of Edo Tensei standing behind him.

"Itachi." Sasuke smirked as he faced his older brother, Mangekyo Sharingan spinning "I did what you said, correctly this time. I have those eyes you wanted and the power now to crush you and everyone in my path!"

"A pity that you have fallen so far into the darkness that you cannot see that you are nothing more than a puppet." Itachi stated "I did not kill our entire clan so you could become a monster."

"I'M NOT A MONSTER!" Sasuke roared "And you should have let the coup happen!"

"No... I was wrong in my request." Itachi sighed as he looked at Sasuke, not as his brother but as a rogue nin that needed to be silenced "I will kill you now Sasuke, and preserve the world before your madness burns it to the ground."

"Do you really think that you can stand against me, and the might of the full Uchiha clan?!" Sasuke laughed as the Edo Tensei moved into the light and Itachi realized that Kabuto had revived the entire Uchiha clan that he had massacred that night long ago "Oh yes brother. The irony is poetic. You will be killed by the very ones that you killed all those years ago!"

"You are not my brother anymore Sasuke. You are no longer Uchiha, and I will return our clansmen to the Pure World so that they may rest in peace for the rest of time as they deserve." Itachi stated, his own Sharingan ablaze as he faced the army ahead of him.

_AN* And Cliffhanger BWAHAHA! Sorry, but both of those fights are going to be next time and I am hoping to make them some of my most epic fights yet. Next time we learn the truth about Hao's past and get to see the ultimate Uchiha brawl! Until then this is RagnellAlondite signing off, and remember leave those reviews._


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